SOLOMONS, MD - In her four years at Patuxent, Laurel Frederick is sure that this is one of the most talented teams she’s played on. The senior pitcher just needs the entire roster to see the same view as she does.
“We have to go up every game, believing we’re going to win. Not, ‘this is a team we’re supposed to lose to,’ ” said Frederick. “We definitely have the ability to win the games that could have gone either way. It’s just little things here and there we have to work on as a younger team.”
The Lady Panthers have done fine in the status quo games, contests like their 5-0 home win over Lackey, April 30. It’s been those 50/50 contests, mostly against historically dominant programs in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference (SMAC), which have exposed their inexperience as contenders.
In two competitive losses against Huntingtown, Patuxent either led late or were in position to tie the game, only to be outscored by the Hurricanes down the stretch. The same uncertainty cost them in defeats to North Point (5-4) and Thomas Stone (4-2), while a 5-0 loss at La Plata—a traditional SMAC power who holds a sub-.500 record this spring, getting outscored 28-6 in two games against common opponent Huntingtown—was perhaps most frustrating of them all.
“If we start off weak and shaky, we kind of stay like that throughout the game,” admitted Danielle Gilbert.
“They are better than what they think they are,” said Patuxent head coach Jenn Bruno of her players. “We’re doubting ourselves right now. They’re competing; it’s just a matter of getting them to believe they are good. The desire to win.”
With a deep group of juniors, Bruno is hopeful this season can be a springboard into 2010, when the expectation to succeed should be strengthened. Still, it’s a maturation that remains in progress, especially in the batter’s box. Patuxent’s younger hitters too often let a single bad at-bat derail their afternoon, in turn letting close games slip away.
“We’ve talked about being mentally tough all year long,” said Bruno. “It’s a very good hitting team. But they’re not going to get a hit every time up. Softball is a game of failure. They have to get over that.”
Once Patuxent stops expecting to fall short, the next step in their ascension can occur.
E-mail William Logan at sports@calvertindependent.com.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Total
LAC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PAX 0 1 0 0 4 0 x 5
The Calvert Independent
