APU’s softball team begins the 2016 season with something to prove, after its lackluster 2015 season ended with a 29-26 overall record (14-17 PacWest). The Cougars finished seventh in the PacWest in 2015 and were picked to finish seventh again in the 2016 preseason coaches’ poll.
Despite the previous season, head coach Carrie Webber expressed that they have high hopes for 2016.
“I am super excited!” Webber said. “There is always a sense of excitement when you start a new season. We’re out to prove people wrong about where we rank and what we’re about to do. Our goal was [to learn] how to be a team and work together while building.”
The Cougars are led by junior third baseman Nicki Sprague, who is the two-time defending PacWest Player of the Year.
“[Sprague] is the one that allows the team to elevate,” Webber said. “She challenges the team and pushes the girls to be better than they think they can, [and] to not settle for what they are.”
Key players also include seniors Narissa Garcia and Madison Hernandez, a pitcher-catcher combo. New to the team was freshman pitcher Megan Mejia, whom Sprague described as having “nasty movement.”
The Cougars started the 2016 season with a home double-header against U.C. San Diego.
“[We had] Annie Sisler in right field and Cayla Broussard on second base and in the number two spot in the [batting] line-up,” Webber said about the two starting freshmen. “That’s a big position to play and a key position to hit.”
The Cougars split the double-header against U.C. San Diego. The team then traveled to Las Vegas to participate in the Desert Stinger tournament.
“It’s a fun tournament with smaller fields and shorter fences,” Webber said. “You will see lots of hitting and offense.”
The team went 3-2 on the weekend, scoring 37 runs across the five games. The team will carry the offensive momentum back into action on the road against longtime rival Biola on Friday, Feb. 12, in La Mirada, CA. The team will open their PacWest schedule Mar. 4 at home against defneding national runner-up and conference champion Dixie State.