Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 MYRTLE BEACH, SC. – DAY 4
Glenville State College – 15 Principia – 1
This game was against another strong D2 team and it showed. Principia certainly stuck their nose in there and battled but in all fairness they were playing against a more experienced and skilled team. To show you what their approach is like now
Christine Nacewicz hit the first pitch of the game hard right up the middle for a leadoff single. Prin had two people on with none out but just couldn't get that next hit to fall to score a run. While Principia is making fewer mistakes now, a team like Glenville makes you pay for every one you make and that is what happened a few times in this game and the score just kept creeping up.
On offense
Devon Harrison was 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored.
Christine Nacewicz and
Marianna Distel each had a hit and Marianna had an RBI.
Concord University – 9 Principia – 0
Yet again, another strong D2 team that made Principia pay for the few mistakes they made. That has been the single biggest difference in playing D2 schools, they don't make many mistakes and they take advantage of every one you make. Concord did hit the ball well but they also had a number of bloop singles that were the result of good pitch location. Several times
Devon Harrison threw the ball exactly where it was called for and Concord managed to get a small piece of it and somehow several of those hits found an open spot. While Principia didn't have nearly as many hits they continued to make good contact and put balls in play. They only had 3 strike outs against two different D2 pitchers. That has been one of the huge areas of improvement with this team over last year. This year's team doesn't strike out, they put the ball in play and force the other teams defense to make plays.
In looking at this year's week at Myrtle Beach it is significantly better than the previous two years. This team is much better after 8 games than it was after the same number of games in other years. This year's schedule was the toughest one by far. They had to play against 4 D2 schools and that is more than any other year. They went 2 and 2 against D3 teams and after having lost 12-0 to Arcadia (D3 school) on Monday they came back and lost a very close game (4-1) the next day against Arcadia. They could have easily been 3 and 1 against D3 schools which is what they usually play against in Myrtle Beach.
Principia looks more determined this year to learn from their mistakes. They have been significantly more aggressive and are learning how to minimize damage and not come unraveled in tough situations. They are more confident at the plate and appear to be a better hitting team than in the past. It is a group that looks like they enjoy each other and are very supportive of one another. It should be interesting to see what this team can accomplish this season.
