Club softball team competing for top seed in World Series
Game One of the World Series “Pool Play” has yet to begin, and already the Buffs’ club softball team is behind.
The No. 10 Buffs are 12 games behind before they face-off with No. 7 Navy because of the conference that they play in, Captain Keeley Stokes said.
“We are in a conference with only two teams,” Stokes said. “You play three sets of two games with the team in your conference, and when you only have one other team in your conference, your games played are not very high.”
The Colorado Buffaloes come into the National Club Softball Association World Series with the least amount of games played by any team, 16.
Air Force is the only other team in the MidAmerican Region West Conference. The president of the Club Softball Association, Sandy Sanderson, said he hopes more teams join the conference in the next couple of years.
“There is a lack of teams over there right now, but as the Association gets bigger we hope more and more teams will join,” Sanderson said.
At this point, Navy has won more games than Colorado even played, 17. The Midshipmen played 28 games and won the Mid Atlantic North Conference, which consists of five teams.
Navy assistant coach Andrew West said the surplus in games Navy had over the season compared to the Buffs will help them.
“The more games you play in a season, the more games you learn from and get better from,” West said. “I hope this gives us an advantage over Colorado.”
West added that the amount of games the Midshipmen played enabled Navy to see more teams and therefore different styles of play.
“I hope because of this we can adjust to Colorado’s play a little easier than they can against us,” West said.
However, the Buffs have no lack of confidence as they prepare for the Midshipmen.
During the course of the season, only the Air Force Falcons link the Buffs and Midshipmen together.
Out of the six games played against the Air Force Falcons, the Buffs won five. These victories led them to win the Mid-American Region West Conference, which gave them an automatic into the Series.
The Midshipmen lost to the Falcons in their one meeting during the season.
Stokes said the team has looked at that match-up for self-assurance in preparing for the Navy series.
“(The Navy Midshipmen) are a great team, but it gives us confidence to know our record against Air Force,” Stokes said.
West, however, said it was merely one game.
The Buffs and Midshipmen are also accompanied in their “Pool” by James Madison University and Eastern Washington.
After “Pool Play” between the four teams, the No. 1 team in the “Pool” will receive a No. 2 seed in the World Series tournament, the No. 2 finisher will earn a No. 7 seed, the No. 3 a No. 10 seed and last team a No. 15 seed.
However, both the Buffs and Midshipmen are looking no farther than one game at a time.
“You cannot look past any game,” West said. “Every team here is too good for that.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Brent Wilson New at brent.new@colorado.edu.
