Going into its season, the Buffalo State softball team had big expectations.
Its goal wasn’t just to make it to the conference playoffs, but to host a game and win the
tournament.
Instead, the team missed the playoffs completely, and the Bengals are left wondering
what could have been if they had been able to live up to their lofty goals.
“Disappointing can’t even really describe how a lot of us feel about it,” senior Breanna
Fenski said. “It hurts.”
The Bengals’ biggest problem this season was their inability to get all aspects of their
game clicking at the same time.
There were only a few occasions when their pitching, defense and hitting all came
together in the same game. The players said this was the biggest reason the team
couldn’t find success.
“I think the biggest thing was we couldn’t put each component together,” senior Sam
Strapason said. “One game we’d hit well, the next game we’d field well, the next game
our pitching would be on, (but) we couldn’t do everything at once.”
Despite its struggles, Buffalo State still found itself within two games of the SUNYAC
playoffs on the last day of the conference schedule. The Bengals won both of their
games and needed Oswego to lose both games of its doubleheader in order to make the
playoffs. Oswego was able to pick up one win in the two games, meaning the Bengals
missed out on the postseason by just one game.
“I think it sucked more having to rely on someone else losing when we had ample
opportunity all year to win games and we just didn’t do it,” senior Brieanna Brink said.
The Bengals’ four departing seniors, Brink, Fenski, Strapason and Lindsay Goff, are
leaving with a bitter taste in their mouths, but head coach Marie Curran was full of
praise for the group.
When asked about how she intends to replace her seniors, Curran said the group was so
special, they will be impossible to duplicate exactly.
“It’s a group of kids you can’t replace because they’re so unique,” Curran said. “What
we really have to look at is what does the 2014 team look like, and what do we bring out
of them because you can never replace a class like this.”
As for what the 2014 team will look like, one of the recurring themes the players talked
about was how valuable the pitching will be for the team.
Maddie Coneys was consistent all season, posting a 2.33 ERA in 126.1 innings pitched.
Sam Tilkins and Kelsi Leo struggled early, but came on strong as a duo toward the end of
the season. Tilkins allowed just five earned runs over her last 17.2 innings pitched, and
Leo allowed three or less hits in four of her final five appearances.
“They improved a lot, and that’s what you want to see, but unfortunately we just
couldn’t make it happen for them,” Goff said.
Offensively, freshman Stephanie Novo and junior Carly Knight figure to be the leaders
next season. Knight finished second on the team in batting average and runs scored,
while Novo ended the season second in hits, home runs and RBIs.
Another potential leader is Shelly Maggard. Her aggressive defensive mentality
impressed coaches and players all season, and Goff sees her as a leader on and off the
field.
“She just has that drive to win,” Goff said. “She’ll lay out for everything, she’ll do the
best she can, and she’s not afraid to get dirty.”
While the 2013 season came up short for the Bengals, expectations are already high
for next year. With the disappointment of not making the playoffs fresh in the team’s
minds, Curran thinks the best way to move forward is to take some time to reflect on
this season and come back with a fresh perspective moving forward.
“During the summer, we’ll really spend a lot of time together as a staff and try to figure
out if there’s something different we need to do,” Curran said. “That’s going to be a
challenge, but I think we need some time to walk away to get the right emotion behind
the thinking.”
Chris Dierken can be reached by email at dierken.record@live.com or on Twitter
@cdierken.