By By: Kaylee Darnell
Sports Editor
The school year may be coming to an end, but our spring sports are still working their way through the season. Both the baseball and softball teams are more than two thirds of the way through their season and are fighting for a spot in the CCAC conference tournament.
The baseball team is currently 14-9 in their conference and are in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference.
“We have a lot of talent on the pitching and hitting side of our team. Expectations are pretty high of what we are capable of as a squad moving deeper. All of us know how hard we have worked in order to win the conference, and that’s exactly where I see us ending up,” junior Jake McKendry said. “The expectations moving forward are very high knowing we have a high ceiling. We want nothing more than to bring IUSB home a championship.”
The softball team is currently 6-8 in their conference and is in eighth place in the conference.
“Sitting in eighth right now isn’t the best feeling, because we obviously want to be higher, and we are more than capable to be higher – it’s just the fact that some games didn’t finish in our favor. We truly have such a tough conference with schools like St. Francis, Saint Xavier, and Olivet,” senior Katie Getz said. “We definitely can hold our own against any team in any game, it’s just about coming out on top.”
At the time of publication, both teams were heading towards the end of official conference play with each only having two more teams to face. The softball team will play Saint Ambrose and St. Xavier and the baseball team will play St. Francis and Olivet.
“I have all the faith in us as a team because I know what we’re capable of and I’ve seen what we can do. Regardless of where we finish in the conference, I know we’re going to show up hungry and ready to go when it’s tournament time,” sophomore Haley Fair said. “We could face someone who swept us, who we swept, or who we split with, but none of that matters once we step in between the lines. We’ve got so much skill and heart, and I know we can go far, and I’m ready for it.”
Senior Robbie Berger of the baseball team shared a similar sentiment.
“We’ve been working so hard all season and it’s time to go. We’re sitting in a three-way tie right now, and each game counts more than the last one did,” he said. “These final games are either going to bring us closer to our goal or make it a little harder to reach. We’re going into these last couple of games with everything we have, and we’re going to do it together because all of us want it that bad.”
Both teams are finishing their season in the upcoming week, and then the top eight teams in the conference will move on to the tournament play where they can fight for their spot in the national tournament. Updates on both teams for the remainder of their season can be found on the following Twitter accounts: @IUSBTitans, @IUSBsoftball and @IUSBbase.
For any information regarding softball, baseball or other athletics at IU South Bend, visit IUSBTitans.com.
