By Nate West
Assistant News Editor
The softball team (8-8) claimed the top spot in the Hatter Classic in Deland, Fla. Feb. 26. It also split a double header against Mount St. Mary’s before falling short in the championship of the North Florida Invite.
The Bonnies are now looking forward to their upcoming tournament at Tennessee State in Nashville March 16 – 18.
Belmont, Mercer, Ohio State and host Tennessee State will join the Bonnies at the TSU Tiger Invitational. Coach Mike Threehouse said having big-name teams like the Buckeyes at the tournament shouldn’t be any more intimidating than any other event.
“It doesn’t matter how they do; it matters how we do,” Threehouse said. “There’s no reason why we can’t beat them.”
The 9-7 win against Bethune-Cookman in the championship gave the Bonnies a final record of 4-1 overall for the Hatter Classic. Threehouse said he’s proud of his team and knows this is the team he’s going to be seeing for the rest of the season.
“I expect all my players to do well; that’s why they’re here,” Threehouse said. “It was a team win and a team championship. It was wonderful.”
The Bonnies split a Feb. 29 doubleheader with Mount St. Mary’s, losing 7-0 before rebounding for a 4-3 victory. Threehouse credited the game one loss to Mount. St. Mary’s pitcher Nicole Pagano.
“When she was out of high school, I looked at her for a bit,” Threehouse said. “She struck out 14 of us, so we’re not going to win the game when that happens. We came back out and won the second game. I’ll take our victory after losing the first game and giving up 14 strikeouts.”
After splitting the four games played on Friday and Saturday, the Bonnies lost the championship game of the North Florida Invite, 3-0, to McNeese State, which defeated Arizona State earlier in the season.
In the Bonnies second game of the invite, sophomore pitcher Jen Sansano threw a complete-game no-hitter against Mount St. Mary’s. Sansano struck out four through seven innings in the 6-0 win.
Threehouse said that playing a team like McNeese State is a good learning opportunity.
“It helps us understand what happens next time we come upon a type of team like that,” Threehouse said. “It’s going to help us score some runs in some big-time situations. We’re going to show people how good we are.”
westnl11@bonaventure.edu
