Softball team prepares for upcoming season

It's mid-February and the weather can't decide what to do. Give up on winter? Or continue to cover the city with more slushy snow, the kind that leaves roads slippery and sports fields soggy?

Despite of the weather's indecision, the UCCS softball team has done its best to prepare for the upcoming season, practicing at the Four Diamonds Sports Complex when the weather allows and heading indoors when it doesn't.

With the season set to begin on Feb. 17 against Winona State, head coach Scott Peterson is optimistic about the upcoming season, hoping to qualify for the College World Series on the strength of what he sees as his team's biggest assets: unity.

"Right now, one of our strengths is the unity of the team. These kids get along," said Peterson. "Winning teams always have team chemistry. Show me a losing team that says, man, we had great team chemistry. Winning teams are the ones with chemistry and we have that chemistry. This team gets along very, very well."

Two players to watch this season will be second baseman Lara Mathewson and pitcher Jessica Belsterling. Both Mathewson and Belsterling are coming off seasons, in which they earned all-conference accolades and are both preseason first team all-conference picks for this season.

According to their coach, though, the Mountain Lions are hardly a two-person show.

"We're balanced throughout our lineup. We're a fast team, so we'll steal lots of bases," said Peterson. "We have a lot of really good contact hitters; we're not going to strike out a lot."

Senior third baseman Christina Blanton echoed her coach's sentiments.

"We are a very strong team this year. We have great hitters up and down the line up, pitchers that hit their spots and a good coaching staff," she said.

One of the main concerns this season will be remaining healthy and surviving the grind that is college softball. With four games nearly every weekend and an already thin lineup featuring only one senior, depth (or the lack thereof) could be key as the season unfolds.

"In our sport, we're only allowed to substitute one runner, so depth will probably be an issue," said Peterson. "Staying healthy will also be key."

For Blanton, the most difficult part of the season will be maintaining her mental and physical edge.

"One of the biggest challenges is preparing yourself mentally and physically for four 7-inning games in two days. It is very difficult to simulate that in practice," she said.

The Mountain Lions open the season with eight consecutive road games. Their first home game is March 3 against Western New Mexico.