Raider Softball ready to kick off postseason
4/30/2010 – NWF State softball ready for postseason
By ADAM ROSENBERG
Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4484 | arosenberg@nwfdailynews.com
AUBURNDALE The Northwest Florida State College softball team wanted to defend its Panhandle Conference championship from last season. Although the Raiders fell short with a second-place finish, bigger goals remain well within reach.
Today at 1 p.m., the Raiders (35-14) take on hometown Polk State College in the first game of the FCCAA Gulf District Tournament, as they try to take their first step toward a state and perhaps national championship. Whether they win or lose, they will play another game at 7 p.m.
The Vikings finished third in the Suncoast Conference with a 38-16 overall record and a 14-6 record in conference play.
Besides having the advantage of essentially playing at home the school is located not far from Auburndale in Winter Haven the Vikings have plenty of talented players for the Raiders to deal with.
"They have a very good pitcher who does a nice job," NWF State coach Jack Byerley said. "They also have several girls who can stroke at the plate. They've definitely improved since last year."
The pitcher Byerley was referring to is Greta Cecchetti, a native of Italy who is over 6-feet tall and boasts a 1.02 ERA and a 19-4 record.
Cecchetti registered 254 strikeouts in 233 innings of work this season, which should set up an exciting showdown with the Raiders' high-powered offense.
Offensively, the Vikings are led by Margaret Brown, who led the team with a .403 average, and Kenshyra Davis, who is a run-producing machine with 48 RBIs. Add that to the fact that Polk State should have a home-crowd advantage, and the Raiders have their work cut out for them.
"(Polk State) is playing at home," Byerley said. "It's hard on Panhandle teams when we come down here because it always seems like teams are gunning for us. They'll be playing their best ball against us."
Despite losing slugger Lauren Bower to a torn ACL in the regular season finale last week, the Raiders are upbeat about beginning postseason play. They enter the tournament having won seven of their last 10 games and have several players swinging hot bats.
Perhaps most importantly, the youth-laden roster seems to be becoming more comfortable with its high pressure surroundings. This will be the first postseason action for the team's six freshmen starters.
"We had a good, spirited practice (on Wednesday)," Byerley said. "I feel we're loose and where we need to be. That's going to be key for such a young team. We need to stay loose and play our game."