Because of multiple game cancellations because of weather, the Truman State University softball team have played less games going into March than last year. In the eight games the Bulldogs have played, they have won half of their games going into their first home series March 4 against Saginaw Valley State University.
The Bulldogs are rebounding after a couple of tough losses against Missouri University of Science and Technology two weekends ago, bringing them to a 4-4 season record. They will be playing a Saginaw Valley State team who will only have four games under its belt, compared to the Bulldogs’ eight games, going into the doubleheader this Sunday on the Bulldogs’ home field.
Saginaw Valley State is currently 2-0 and will be playing a doubleheader tomorrow against a University of Illinois Springfield team, which is currently 7-2 and riding a five-game winning streak.
Saginaw Valley will also have a quick turnaround from the doubleheader tomorrow to the doubleheader Sunday against the Bulldogs. This can be a time for the team to get a couple of wins and get back on the winning train. Junior pitcher Lauren Dale said the ’Dogs are ready to get back out there and learn from their mistakes against Missouri S&T.
“Every loss is an opportunity to learn,” Dale said. “I think it is going to make us focus more and take advantage of every opportunity given.”
Dale said the coaching staff and players have made focusing a point of emphasis in practice. She said the games against Missouri S&T let the team know they can’t take a single inning for granted and they need to be focused for the entirety of the game. Dale said she thinks these past two games against S&T will not define the Bulldogs’ season as a whole.
Senior infielder Jamie Fowle said the team will learn from the Missouri S&T games and go out and play more relaxed and focused softball.
“We need to play relaxed and not put too much pressure on ourselves,” Fowle said. “We play our best when we are having fun and just playing the game.”
Fowle said the team needs to put everything into perspective and learn softball — though important in all of their lives — does not define any one player and losses happen. She said dwelling on these losses can lead to worse outcomes, and the players just need to shake it off, learn and move on to the next game ahead of them.
The team will play against Saginaw Valley at noon and 2 p.m. Sunday on the Bulldogs’ home field.