William Battle, III
Staff Writer
At nearly three quarters of the way through their season, Florida Southern Softball has an overall record of 17-19, and they look to improve this record before the season is over. With a conference record of 6-12, they currently sit at ninth place in the Sunshine State Conference.
The Mocs have found star players in Taylor Thomas and Mel Rogers this season. Thomas, a junior from Longwood, Fla., leads the team in nearly every significant batting category and is the primary spark plug for the Mocs’ offense. With 106 plate appearances, she has accumulated a batting average of .396. She also leads the team in hits, doubles, runs batted in, on-base percentage and total bases. On the defensive side, Mel Rogers and Ashley Blessin have both split the majority of the workload for Florida Southern. Rogers leads the team with the lowest earned run average, WHIP and shutouts, while Blessin leads the team in total innings pitched, complete games and strikeouts. Both have tallied seven wins for the Mocs.
“I was expecting improvements from my previous years,” Rogers reflected on her performance so far this season. “This year coming in, I had a completely new and fresh mindset and I knew what I needed to do to get the job done for my team this year. It definitely wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t have great teammates behind me, defensively and offensively.”
Rogers has found ways to help herself prepare for big moments and focus before games.
“[I] listen to music and just hang out with the team in the locker room,” Rogers said. “We like to have a good time.”
One surprising statistic regarding the softball season so far is the road versus home record comparisons. On the road, FSC has struggled with a 2-9 record – seven games below a .500 win percentage. At home, however, they boast a 14-9 record, far superior to their road showing.
“I don’t think it is a coincidence that our record is what it is,” Rogers said. “We just didn’t perform at our best and that is on us as a team. We are learning from it and are trying to come together as a team to compete to the best of our abilities for future games.”
With 12 of their next 14 upcoming games against conference opponents and half of those 12 at home, the next few weeks are critical for the team to stage a turnaround.
FSC softball will take on Lynn University, an SSC opponent, tonight at Chris Bellotto Field before hitting the road for a non-conference midweek battle against Flagler. They will return home to face off with another conference opponent, Nova Southeastern University, on April 14 and 15, with the latter being the team’s senior day celebration.
Rogers anticipates that the team’s strong sense of culture will help carry the team through the rest of their season.
“It takes a village to get the job done,” Rogers said, “and all of us [are] a family no matter what.”
