University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Softball Begins 2015 Preparation
1/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss softball team kicked off the 2015 campaign with a pair of practices on Thursday, Jan. 8. The team started the day with a conditioning test that was moved to Reed Green Coliseum due to below freezing temperatures on Thursday morning. The Golden Eagles concluded the day at the Southern Miss Softball Complex for the first official practice of the 2015 season.
"I am so pleased with the work ethic - the focus, the energy, the excitement," head coach Wendy Hogue said of her team's first spring practice. "I am very pleased with the level at which they returned from the break. I am pretty excited about the rest of the week. We've still got some work to do, but if we can consistently bring the focus and the energy that we had today, good things are going to happen.
"I know that everyone worked hard over the break," added Hogue. "I saw confidence today in players that I was not seeing in the fall. Overall, I think the team in general did well in the fall. As far as the confidence coming in today, through the roof."
After a morning workout, the Golden Eagles took part in an afternoon practice session for two hours in nearly freezing temperatures.
"I thought the team adjusted very well to the temperature," Hogue stated. "It didn't handicap us. It didn't keep us from getting anything done. Watching practice today, you would have thought it was 65 (degrees) with a light breeze."
The team returned to the field after working with Hogue in the fall. During the offseason, the team played six exhibition games, finishing with a 5-1 record. Hogue, who is in her first season with the Black and Gold, rotated players at various positions to give everyone on the team experience and gauge their effectiveness in different situations.
"I think the fall went well," remarked Hogue. "I think we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish in the fall. I think it was a measuring stick. Not us against other teams, but us against ourselves and where we need to be. I thought we made strides weekly in the fall. Now, we have to go from getting better every week to getting better every day."
Hogue challenged the team both on field and in the classroom. The team posted 3.2 team grade point average for the fall - up from a 3.0 in the fall of 2013. A total of 17 players notched a 3.0 or better, including two players on the team recorded a 4.0 GPA in the fall.
The team also participated in the 2014 Special Olympics in Hattiesburg, as well as, a canned food drive to provide a Thanksgiving meal for the homeless.
"We want to be winners where ever we are," said Hogue. "We want to be winners in the classroom. We want to be winners on the field. We want to be winners in the community. We want to be good representatives of the University of Southern Mississippi. We are very blessed and fortunate to be part of such a great institution."
The 2015 Southern Miss softball team consists of a solid mix of 22 players. The team is led by one senior (Shelbee Rodgers) and six juniors (Priscilla Burns, Katie Cleary, Sarah Evans, Morgan McKeever and Michelle Stringer). In addition, the Golden Eagles have 10 sophomores (Danielle Block, Bragan Burns, Selena Estrada, Peyton Garner, Jenifer Gary, Rachel Johnson, Arielle Pollock, Samantha Robles, Tori Rouse, Bailey Stokes and Emily Wood) and five freshman (Jordan Beck, Kaelyn Christofferson, Mallory Hayden, Jillian Johnson and Samantha Reynolds).
Southern Miss begins the 2015 season on Feb. 6, as the Golden Eagles play Jackson State in the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores, Ala.
