The 2017 Softball season has come to an end and the Big Red ended with an overall record of 13-28-1 and an Ivy record of 6-14. Even though these weren’t the results the team had hoped for they did improve from last year’s 10-33 record.
This year was seen as a rebuilding year by many players. The team is young and the future looks bright. Out of the 17 players on the roster this year, six were freshman, all of whom played a considerable amount. In addition, three of four pitchers were freshman. The team will only be losing two seniors next year and will have junior captain Rebecca Kubena and batting leader Megan Murray returning for their senior years.
The 2017 season had its ups and down. An early season-ending injury to senior and leadoff hitter Michiko McGivney did not help the team with its struggles. However, the team was able to adjust and eventually found more of a rhythm. Several players nursed injuries throughout the year, which limited the Big Red’s depth, but the return of sophomore Zoe Hernandez midway through the season helped with those issues. Cornell’s record does not reflect the softball team’s potential and as the team solidified more throughout the season, they picked up several marque wins. The most impressive of which were two wins against the eventual Ivy League champion Princeton Tigers. It is even more impressive considering the Tigers only had five total losses in Ivy League play.
The best surprise this season was the freshman class. They provided solid pitching, throwing in the majority of games, and also bolstered the team’s hitting. Sarah Murray held the team’s second best batting average at .315 and Bridgette Rooney led the team in numerous batting statistics.
Rooney had a historic season leading the team in homeruns (10), RBIs (30), slugging percentage (.574) and Triples (2). Her accolades don’t end there. In addition to leading the team in multiple categories she led the Ivy League in homeruns, the first time since the 2011-12 season that a Cornellian has led the Ivy League in any category. Her total of 10 homeruns is also the most in a single season by a player for the Big Red since 2009.
Bridgette said “it has always been my dream to come to Cornell and play softball and I’m glad I could contribute to the team in such a big way.” Rooney, a first baseman in the field, said “I always considered myself a hitter” and described hitting as her favorite part of the game. However, she is also a good fielder and accumulated 320 outs at first base. She batted in the clean-up spot all year and was one of three players to start every game.
The team is still growing and in the fall, will add six new freshmen and one transfer student to the roster to add more talent and bolster its depth. Look for the Big Red to be competing for a championship in the years to come.
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