Western Courier

Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Martyn Davis Junior pitcher Courtney Jacobson pitched five innings against Southern Utah last weekend and recorded six strikeouts while allowing five hits.

The Westerwinds softball team is coming off a split with Southern Utah and will travel to compete against Centenary in a three-game series this weekend.

The 'Winds were scheduled to play against Bradley, but the game was canceled due to poor weather and unplayable field conditions. This marks the ninth cancellation of a game or series this season.

"It gets frustrating not playing those games," said coach Holly Van Vlymen. "We have to focus on what we can control, and obviously we can't control the weather so we have to make sure that we have good practices that prepare us for our games."

Western rode the back of sophomore shortstop Lauren Furgala in the previous series. Furgala went 2-for-5 with five RBIs in the two games.

Although Furgala came up with key RBIs, the 'Winds have focused on situational hitting in practice. Van Vlymen has stressed getting hits with runners on base.

"We have been working on our base running, and I have been pitching to the girls so they can get in game-like situations," Van Vlymen said. "They have been doing well in practice so I feel like we have a good weekend here at Centenary."

The 'Winds have had to make adjustments to the state of the pitching staff since losing junior Kamren Ferguson. The pitchers have adjusted well with Lori Pankratz, who leads the way with a 3-7 record.

However, Western has been beaten with poor pitch selection, which resulted in giving up home runs as of late. This is something Western looks to improve heading into the series against the Ladies.

"We just worked on some situational stuff. We worked on location, keeping the ball down and hitting the corners," Van Vlymen said. "That's what really hurt us, getting the ball up sometimes, so we have been working on that."

As the season winds down, the games become more important. Every game holds playoff implications, but the 'Winds are not focused on the postseason picture.

They instead concentrate on the small things that have brought them success this season. Winning the series will be the result of executing the fundamentals, according to Van Vlymen.

"We are still sticking with our goals and the little things instead of focusing on winning the whole series," Van Vlymen said. "It would be great to come here and beat Centenary, which would put us in a good position for the tournament. We just want to focus on scoring first, hitting every inning and preventing the big inning, that kind of stuff."

The series is set to begin with a doubleheader Friday at 4 p.m. in Shreveport, La.

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