Spring Break with Britt
Alfred State pitcher Brittany Fisher and the Pioneers are on their annual spring break trip to the Gene Cusic Classic in Ft. Myers, FL. She will journal the experience for her and the team.
Friday, March 13th - Last Day in Florida
Today is our last day in Ft. Myers before we are headed back to Alfred State. Today we had a day off with no games and most of the team went to the beach. We got some bad news that our softball season is over because of the virus, COVID-19, that is going on in the world. They want to keep us healthy and to safe.
We want to thank you the seniors on this team. We had three seniors The first one who has been with Alfred State Softball for four years is Betsy Butlak. The second one is Ashley Gomez who has been with Alfred State Softball for three years. Finally, the last senior is Angela Martone who has been with Alfred State Softball for two years.
We also found out today that whoever is on the team will get a extra year of eligibility of softball because we just started our season and it is only fair for us to get an extra year.
We want to say thank you to the Coach Fair and Coach Kelly for helping us to get our goal. The coaches did a really good job working with us and helping us learning new things every day on the field. Both of the coaches were in their first year coaching college softball. We made Alfred State history with the amount of wins we got here in Florida!
Thursday, March 12th - Last Dance in Florida
Today was the last day of games in Florida. The first game was against Rockford and we had a tough loss for that game. We hit the ball but other team had a good defense and we tried everything to get on the bases. We had to move on and forget about that game because we had another game less thana 20 minutes later.
We played against Nazareth in our second game and we won 8-4. Everyone hit the ball good and we had a good defense on the field. I was the winning pitcher of that game. Also, we set a record form most wins for a spring trip of softball. Last year we were 4-6 and this year we finished 5-5. It is really good for us because we have a new head coach this year and had a young group of ladies. We are also able to prove that we can do anything with our team and coach.
I talked to freshman, Sarah Boyce about her experience in Ft. Myers. I asked what do you think of Alfred State softball in your first year? Sarah stated that she was excited for her and the team because we finished our spring trip 5-5. She also mentioned that with the possible cancellation of the season do to virus was a huge disappointment.
I asked what is your favorite memory from Florida? She said "Definitely the big win over RIT. "
I wanted to thank Dr. Sullivan, our coaches, support staff and my teammates for a great week of Softball. And as always Go Pioneers!
Wednesday, March 11th - How Sweep it Is
Wednesday was our fourth day of games in Ft. Myers. The first game we played was against Elms and we won 11-1 in five innings. Everyone hit the ball well and our defense did awesome. The winning pitcher was Arianna Traugott.
We took on Rochester Institute of Technology later in the day and we won 7-5. We handed them their first loss of the season. We were down one run in the first inning and we fought back in the second inning to tie it up. In the top of the fifth inning we scored four runs to take the lead. We scored two more runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 7-1 lead. RIT scores two runs in the bottom of the sixth to bring the score to 7-3. RIT was down four runs as we went to the bottom of the seventh. We had one out right away and they started to hit the ball, and scored two runs. With two outs and a runner on second Marissa Varela made the game clinching catch in centerfield. I got my first win being on the mound. Krista Lovell had a good day at the plate, she had a double. We scared the fans by giving up four runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but we won the game!!!!
We had a team dinner at Zookie's Sport Pub & Grill and had good pizza. Everyone on our team including the coaches had signed the game ball to give to Zookie's owner Mark Marzucco to say thank you for having us in their restaurant. If anyone is in Naples go to Zookie's Sport Pub & Grill it is really good food and nice place to go.
We play our final games of the trip tomorrow in Naples, 9 a.m. vs Rockford and 11 a.m. vs. Nazareth. Let's keep our wining streak going! Come back tomorrow to see how we did and to hear from Coach Fair. Catch you later! And as always go Pioneers!
Tuesday, March 10th - The Beat Goes On
Tuesday was our third day of games in Ft Myers, and we had two games. The first game we played Anna Maria and we won 4-0. This was our second win in a row. Everyone hit the ball well and our defense did awesome. The winning pitcher was Arianna Traugott and when I asked her about today's game she was excited for the team win and was proud they she only gave up six total hits for the game. When I asked her how she feels about the future of AState softball, she was looking forward to the progress and getting ready for conference play after spring break. She said "We have a pretty young team an I like where we are headed."
Game two of the day we did not get the results we were looking for. We lost to SUNY Oneonta 14-5. They were a very strong offensive team. The had good hitters through there while line up. We got down 5-0 by the top of the 3rd and we were able to tie it up in the bottom of the 3rd with a strong hitting performances by Krista Lovell, Sarah Boyce and Angela Martone, they all collected 2 hits piece. I took a tough loss on the mound but look forward to bouncing back tomorrow.
We play again tomorrow in Naples at 9 a.m. vs Elms and p.m. vs Rochester Institute of Technology's. Let's start a new winning streak.
Monday, March 9th - First Victory
Monday was our second day of games here. In the first game we played against Wilmington, it was a tougher loss 9-3. The second game was against Curry and we won our first game of the season, 3-2. The pitchers were Arianna Traugott and I. We all came together as a team to get our first victory. In the bottom of the 6th we were down by two runs. We put together three hits in a row to load the bases. Besty Butlak and Arianna came up big with RBI to help win game. Curry had runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs and Samantha Davis came up with the game clinching catch in right field.. As a team we were so happy to get our first win of the season. The win was Coach Fair's first win of his Alfred State career. Mr. Welker got the game ball and all the players signed the ball as a souvenir of the milestone.
We have two games tomorrow at 9 a.m. (Anna Maria) and 1 p.m. (Oneonta). Let;s get two wins tomorrow. To find out how we do, make sure you come back and check my journal tomorrow. Catch you later!
Sunday, March 8th - Opening Day
We had our first games today against North Central from Illinois and against SUNY Canton. It was a disappointing to lose both games today but we are keeping our head high. We have two games tomorrow at 11 a.m. (Wilmington) and 1 p.m. (Curry). We will work hard as team to improve and put today behind us.
Saturday, March 7th - Practice Day
Today was our first full day in Ft. Myers. We drove to a local field park and practiced for two hours to prepare for this week. We are scheduled to play ten games this week start tomorrow. We have a doubleheader every day until Thursday. The girls are ready to start the season!! We had a fun team dinner at Zookie's Sport Pub & Grill. Go Alfred State Pioneers Softball!!!
Friday, March 6th - Travel Day
Today was a long day of travel. We left campus at 3 a.m. to go to the airport in Buffalo to head to Ft. Myers, FL for our spring break games. Our flight left at 7:30 a.m. and we landed in Ft. Lauderdale around 10:30 a.m. before jumping on a bus for one last drive to our hotel in Ft. Myers. We stopped for lunch, checked into the hotel, got some groceries, and had pizza at the hotel.
