The new month hasn’t meant any sort of fresh start for the SFU softball team.
After going 0–9 in preseason play and the month of February, the Clan were looking to right the ship in March against Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents. Four straight losses to two conference rivals on opening weekend, however, leave much to be desired.
The Clan, shorthanded due to illnesses, were outscored 16–3 in their first two games against Western Washington, including a 13–3 walloping in their conference opener. That game was over early: WWU scored 11 runs in the first inning, before SFU rebounded slightly with three in the fourth.
“We knew we were in tough today,” said head coach Mike Renney. “We started out by doing what has put us behind the eight ball in a number of our games, shooting ourselves in both feet by having to get more than three outs in an inning due to errors or just plain poor choices.”
Western Washington added two in the fourth before the game ended in the fifth due to the mercy rule.
During the second game, the Clan were much better defensively, but couldn’t get going offensively, leading to an ultimate shutout of 3–0.
“I was pleased the team didn’t fold [after game one],” said Renney after the contest. “The offence was unfortunately not able to measure up.”
It was the same story in the second double header of the weekend, this time against Central Washington, the GNAC’s top team.
In the first game, a 9–1 loss, CWU jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first two innings, setting the Clan back early, again.
The second game, however, was a very different contest. “Much like we did yesterday, we played a much better game and I think we put a scare into a quality team,” said Renney after what was a narrow loss.
His Clan led 3–0 after three innings, and 5–1 after four. Unfortunately for SFU, Central rallied off three runs in both the fifth and sixth frames to give them a two-run lead they would not relinquish.
“With a young team, you’re going to see Jekyll and Hyde at different times and I think we saw both today,” said Renney.
With the two losses, SFU falls to 0–4 in conference play, and are one of three teams without a win against GNAC opponents. However, the Clan’s 0–13 overall record has them at the bottom of the GNAC standings.
“The reality is with a young team the number one need is time,” said Renney after the first game. It’s early in the season yet, but the rebuilding Clan are quickly running out of time this year.
