By Nick Konotopskyj
Assistant Sports Editor
Spending spring break in Hawaii sounds like time well spent, especially if it involves playing softball every day.
While most students had to spend the week in frigid upstate New York, the softball team had the opportunity to compete in the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu. It was a five-day tournament which included five games, in three of which the Bonnies were victorious.
The Bonnies fell short against Virginia Tech and Western Illinois and defeated Western Illinois, Hawaii, and Columbia.
“Beating the University of Hawaii was a big deal for us,” junior centerfielder Emily Belfield said. “They are always one of the top competitors; they have been to the tournament many times.”
Belfield is a junior physical education major from Lockport, New York who plays center field.
Taking three out of five games in Hawaii improves the Bonnies overall record to 4-9 this season. Improved pitching and defense are major reasons for their recent success.
“We continued to learn throughout the whole tournament and improve,” junior first baseman Katie Sinclair said, “I really felt that our defense and our pitching were solid, and we continue to get better in those areas. Hitting is an area we need to improve on and get that to where it needs to be for A-10 play.”
Sinclair is a junior management major from Cortland, New York.
As good as the defense has been in the last couple weeks, the biggest strength of this team might be the team camaraderie.
“We are all really supportive of each other and really look to help each other out,” Sinclair said, “There always seems to be someone who steps up in big situations, and it’s not always the same person.”
Just like Sinclair, Belfield believes that the team is a tight knit group.
“We are very team-oriented, and we fully trust and believe in one another,” Belfield said, “Most people say we are worse when we aren’t together, so we really feed off of each other.”
Runs have been hard to come by so far this season for the Bonnies. They have only managed to produce one game where they scored over five runs. The wins are starting to come, which gives reason to believe that the runs will as well.
“Our hitting is starting to come together, so if we can keep that going and string some hits together, then we should be in good shape,” Belfield said.
The Bonnies open up A-10 tournament play Saturday with a trip to Ohio to take on the Dayton Flyers. It starts off with a double-header Saturday afternoon then a game on Sunday.
“We got to be ready to compete in the A-10,” Sinclair said, “It has been fun competing in Hawaii, but the A-10 is really what counts so we just have to be ready with our pitching, defense, and everything else needs to be at 100 percent so we can win games and keep pushing forward.”
Times are starting to change on the softball diamond. For one, we can see the grass, but more importantly, the Bonnies are starting to find ways to win the close games.
konotonr12@bonaventure.edu
