EMORY, Va. – The spring 2020 season of intercollegiate athletics is one that most certainly will be remembered. Unfortunately, it will not be the excitement of competition, the camaraderie between teammates that leads to lifelong friendships or the pride which comes from representing one's school that will be remembered. The memory will be that the season was cut short. Cut short by a thing so small, but one that has made a huge impact on our world as we know it.
The Emory & Henry College Department of Athletics will take pause over the next four weeks to reflect on these uncompleted spring seasons and look at what was, what might have been and what will be going forward. Some sports were in the middle of their seasons on Friday, March 13 when play was suspended. Others had barely gotten started.
Today, we continue our review with Softball.
Under the direction of seventh-year Head Coach Tommy Forrester, Emory & Henry is assisted by Jenae Morrissey, Jason Delp and Nichole Poore. Coming off their second trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament in three years, the Wasps entered the 2020 season with their goals set high. The team posted a 7-10 (1-1 ODAC) record during the abbreviated season, playing one of the toughest schedules in the region - if not the country. Six of their contests were played against teams ranked in the Top 25 of by the NFCA with eight remaining games against squads ranked in the Top 25 as of March 11. The team had a strong core of returners, highlighted by depth in the circle and experience in the infield. Younger players were stepping in to fill larger roles in the lineup and the Wasps were poised to make another run in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
RELATED - ODAC Softball Spring Wrap-Up
"I will cherish the memories that were made with this team forever," said Forrester. "Of course, everyone will remember the season for being cut short by COVID-19, but the experiences we had were unreal. We played Virginia Tech to close out fall ball. It was awesome to see our student-athletes stand toe-to-toe with a team that won the ACC Regular Season last year. This spring, we competed in the NFCA Leadoff Classic, an elite Division III event. It was the first experience flying for more than half the team. We also went off-roading in the Sonoran Desert on ATVs as a team. Several of the players said it was the most fun thing they have ever done. The women and coaches on this team are such great people. To be able to experience so many new and unique things for the first time together was truly a dream come true."
After a pair of exhibition wins against Montreat College, the Wasps officially started the season in the B-SC Spring Classic. A victory over No. 15 Birmingham-Southern College set the tone for the Wasps were going to expect for the season. E&H had a pair of close losses against strong sides from No. 24 DePauw University and Mount St. Joseph University while grabbing a decisive win over Covenant College. Emory & Henry played its next six contests at home, earning three of their four victories during the span by a "run-rule" margin over Salem (N.C.) College and Meredith College. The Wasps battled No. 8 Christopher Newport University in a test of elite Atlantic Region programs with the Captains collecting a pair of wins on the day.
RELATED - 2020 Schedule
E&H's next challenge was the NFCA Leadoff Classic, held from Friday, March 6 through Sunday, March 8 in Tucson, Arizona. Four of the Wasps' five games were decided by two runs or less, and while the final scores didn't turn out as they hoped, the team realized that their experience in the ODAC had prepared them to be competitive against the top programs from across the country. E&H faced off against the No. 15 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, No. 5 Illinois Wesleyan University, Babson College and Pacific Lutheran University.
"The 2020 Emory & Henry softball season is one of those instances where you shouldn't judge a book by its cover," said senior shortstop/catcher Leanna Toler (Abingdon, Va.). "If you look in the record book, you'll see a losing record, but if you dig a little deeper you'll see that we played some of the best Division III teams in the nation and hung right in there every time. Any one of those games could've ended differently with one more hit or one more play in the field. All of these games made our team as a whole better and we were ready to compete with the teams in the ODAC."
Returning to the East Coast, the Wasps opened ODAC play with a split at Roanoke College. Emory & Henry was set to visit T-No. 17 Berry College on Saturday, March 14, but that doubleheader was the first to be called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We knew going into this season that we were going to face some of the best teams in the nation," commented junior pitcher Cameron Derr. "We had to step on the field knowing that we were one of those teams, too. Our record doesn't reflect how we were playing but we stood toe-to-toe with every one of them. I know deep down that come conference play we would be prepared to face the tough competition that is the ODAC. We'll just have to wait and keep working for next season."
RELATED - 2020 Statistics
Senior catcher Alex Thomas (Vero Beach, Fla.) led the team with a .421 batting average in eight games and had a team-best four home runs, .522 on-base percentage and a 1.053 slugging average. Toler topped the Wasps with 18 hits, 13 runs scored and 13 stolen bases while sophomore outfielder Anna Thomas (Climax, N.C.) and junior pitcher Alex Braun (Cornelius, N.C.) tagged four doubles each. Derr led the way with four wins in the circle, seven complete games, 52 innings pitched, 55 strikeouts and a 2.29 earned run average.
"During our abbreviated season, we faced countless ranked and elite teams. We didn't win them all, but we competed every single game and proved we belong with those teams," Forrester added.
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