Softball's superb defense not unnoticed
The left side of the field on the CMU softball team’s defense is becoming known as a place where bloop singles and foul balls become casualties.
Left fielder Ashley Gilson and third baseman Amanda Patrick have been the two who have felt the force of the ground when they dive on a regular basis.
“I just want to get a good jump on the ball,” Gilson said. “If I have to dive for it, I just go all out for it.” On April 22 against Michigan State, it was a Gilson diving catch that ended the game and sealed a 5-1 victory.
The weekend before against Ohio and Akron, it seemed like every other inning, either Patrick or Gilson was in mid-air going for a catch.
Gilson said while making the catch is great, the feel of the ground is not friendly, especially when getting to full speed after running 60 feet just to get to the ball.
“It hurts most dives because, half the time, I can’t dive right,” she said, jokingly. “It hurts, but I just mostly flop when I try to dive.”
At times, Patrick is within 30 feet of a batter swinging full force on a fastball, but she said she has to be ready for every ball.
“You just have to relax and know what you are going to do once the ball comes to you,” she said. “You have to be ready for every ball to come at you.”
Patrick and freshman Summer Knoop also have been making plays at third on fast grounders hit just down the line.
“As a third baseman, you have to steal every single ball,” Patrick said. “You have to think every ball is yours because you have a better angle than most of the other players, so you have a better chance of getting the runner.”
First baseman Jill Schulz has been helping Patrick and Knoop out as well, scooping up just about everything thrown to her with a .995 fielding percentage.
She has just one error on the season with 205 put-outs.
Patrick said CMU’s big defensive plays deflate opposing batters and shift the momentum back to CMU.
“I think it is the most frustrating thing ever for a batter,” she said. “It just shuts the other team down.”
Gilson said making the diving catch just gets her team the emotion it wants every time it comes in from the field, and it tries to turn that catch into big hits.
“I feel like it pumps everyone up,” she said. “Not just if I do it, but if anyone else does it. It is a big momentum change when we can get that diving play or great defensive play going into our offense.”
The team plays a doubleheader against Buffalo starting at 1 p.m. Friday in Buffalo, N.Y. before playing Kent State on the road Saturday and Sunday.
