Aces Softball preparing for 2017 campaign

2017 season is just over three weeks away

 Coming off of one of the top turnarounds in the NCAA, the University of Evansville softball team is looking for more as they are preparing for the upcoming 2017 season.

Head coach Mat Mundell and his assistants Ashley Balazs & Aubrey Watson enter their third season at the helm of the program after winning the MVC Coaching Staff of the Year Award in 2016.  The staff saw the team enjoy a 14-game turnaround last year and are poised to take that next step in 2017.

“The main difference for our team is that we have been able to coach most of these girls for a few years now and they understand what Aces Softball is all about,” Mundell said.  “In our first two years, we established a culture and now we can concentrate on softball.”

Mundell’s culture was never more evident than April of last year.  A 3-2 win over Wichita State on April 10 saw the Aces clinch their first MVC series win since 2013.  After ending the streak, the team was not happy with one series win.  They rallied to win the next four on their way to a berth in the conference championship.

With more expectations coming into this year, Mundell knows that his team is ready for what is to come.

“We have nine seniors this season and we will really depend on that leadership,” Mundell added.  “I am excited about the schedule we are playing, it will really test our girls out and give them the experience of playing top teams once we reach conference play.”

Five newcomers join an established squad that won 24 games a season ago.  The newcomers include a pair of JUCO transfers in Brittany Hay and Bailee Porter, 4-year pitching transfers – Ashleigh Downing and Danielle Cassidy and freshman Deja Shelton, who will play in the outfield.

“We lost Danielle (Freeman) and Amanda (Blankenship) from last year’s team, but I feel like we were able to add five girls who will be able to come in and contribute right away,” Mundell said.

Those five join a nucleus who were recognized by the Valley a season ago.  Chandra Parr earned All-MVC First Team accolades for the second time in her career while MVC Freshman of the Year Morgan Florey also earned a spot on the team.  Susan Norris was named to the All-Defensive Team while Michal Luckett was named to the All-Tournament Team.