Softball Hosts Maine For Three-Game Set
Game Program
ALBANY, N.Y. – In what has become an unusual circumstance for the University at Albany softball team this season, the Danes will play their second consecutive series at the regularly scheduled time, instead of having the games postponed or cancelled. The schedule calls for a three-game series with conference opponent Maine, in what will be UAlbany’s third through fifth consecutive home games, after hosting a doubleheader with Siena earlier this week.
“Maine is a very scrappy team,” said head coach Chris Cannata. “They play hard all the time, and our games with them are always hard fought and always close.”
Last year, UAlbany swept the three games they played at Maine. But Coach Cannata isn’t looking to that performance to predict the outcome of the matchup this year.
“They have a different team this year, and we have a different team this year,” Cannata said. You can’t really judge how things might go based on the games we played a year ago.”
The uncertainty with the schedule has wreaked havoc on the progression of the team to this point in the season. Essentially, the Danes have had to start over twice due to long layoffs because games were cancelled or shifted. The second preseason tournament, the Towson Classic, was cancelled entirely because of inclement weather, meaning the Danes were off for three weeks between their last game at the Citrus Classic and their first game at the Rebel Spring Games. After Rebel, the Danes opened regular season play at Stony Brook, but their home opening series against Binghamton was postponed by more than a week due to inclement weather. Consequently, the team had another long layoff between live competition.
“The weather has had an effect on everyone,” Cannata said, “so it is difficult to get a read on everything, whether it be our team or our opponents.”
To Coach Cannata’s point, Tuesday was the first day this season that the team was able to practice outside with ground balls. To this point, they had been practicing in the gym, which is useful in its own way, but doesn’t offer the same benefits as practicing on an actual field.
“Our defense is doing okay,” Cannata said. “The ground is wet, so it’s slower. It’s just another adjustment we have to make. But our pitching has been solid, which is what has kept us in games.”
Coach Cannata has a different assessment of the status of the offense.
“We had better at-bats against Siena,” Cannata said. “They helped us a bit, particularly in the second game with the walks and the errors. In this series, I’m really looking for more comfort at the plate from our hitters.”
“There are things we need to play through,” Cannata continued. “Mostly, we need to actually be playing, be in game situations. There are things that just don’t come up in the gym. But normally we’re a team that gets better as the season goes on.”
This series against Maine is the second three-game set UAlbany has played this season. Previously, the Danes played two different opponents in one day, a doubleheader against a single opponent, or a single game in a day.
“It’s hard to beat a team three times,” Cannata said. “Especially a team like Maine, who is usually a playoff team. By the second and third games they’ve seen your pitching, they’ve made adjustments, and we’ve made adjustments. The games are high intensity, and there are, usually, very few blowouts in conference play.”
The series with Maine kicks off at Albany Field on Saturday, April 5 at 1:00 p.m., followed by the second game of the doubleheader at 3:00 p.m. The series concludes Sunday, April 6 at 12:00 p.m.
