Softball’s undefeated season continues with win over Corning

Matt Whalen

Layout Editor

Three home runs Saturday afternoon against Corning Community College helped the Vikings softball team stay unbeaten at 12-0 for the season.

The Vikings came into Saturday’s game against Corning 10-0, knowing this was going to be their first real challenge of the season.

“I think we played very well today. We came into these games knowing they were two of our biggest games of the season,” said pitcher Allison Ford.

Ford pitched both games to completion, adding to her perfect season with a record of 10-0. Ford was strong both games and was stronger and felt more comfortable in the second game, knowing what she was going up against.

“In the second game, I became more comfortable pitching. The whole team played better knowing we could beat them,” said Ford.

Along with the strong pitching, the batting was just as powerful. In their second game against Corning, the Vikings had three home runs: one by Mercedes Martell, one by Jackie Rossi, who hit a two-run home run, and a solo shot by Hannah Mochrie.

The Vikings faced the same pitcher for both games and were able to hit more and more of Corning’s pitches.

“Everyone made adjustments. Going up to bat the first time, we were a little nervous, but after our first at-bats, everyone was doing great jumping on the ball,” said outfielder Jackie Rossi.

The Vikings softball team has played their best season by far this year with a lot of practice and feel they need to make a statement this season.

“We practice hard every week. We have a lot of things expected of us, so we try to stay up and do the best we can,” said Ford.

The softball team will have their toughest week coming up when they face the number two-ranked team in the nation, Herkimer Community College. Herkimer holds a 20-7 record.

The team’s history against Herkimer in the past ten years has been 8-10. The last time the Vikings defeated Herkimer was in 2010. Herkimer has been stronger than Hudson Valley when it comes to runs scored, with 148 runs to Hudson Valley’s 81 runs in the past ten years.

The Vikings will look to change all that Thursday afternoon when they play Herkimer on the road starting at 3 p.m. for a double header.