Oswego State softball has gotten off to a mediocre 5-5 start so far this season and 4-4 in SUNYAC play. The Lakers lost their series against SUNY Geneseo, and split series against RIT and Brockport State but recently flipped the script, sweeping Buffalo State on April 14.
Leading the way for this team on offense has been junior Zoe Mennig, senior Madelana Wrubel and senior Leah Czerwinski. Mennig has been hot all season long, posting a tremendous .545 batting average, 1.529 on-base plus slugging percentage, 3 home runs and 12 RBIs, with 18 hits in only 33 at-bats.
Wrubel has also started this season with a hot bat, batting .344, with 11 hits in 32 at-bats. She also has a .866 OPS and a .417 on-base percentage. She has been a big piece in the lineup, starting all 10 games so far this season and has been a consistent source of offense so far.
Czerwinski is batting .320 with eight hits in 25 at-bats. She has five stolen bases in just 10 games played. She also boasts an astounding .414 OBP. Her ability to get on base has helped the team score more and put more pressure on opposing pitchers.
On the mound, Oswego State has been led by the sophomore trio of Madison Hoeflich, Samantha Morgan and Fiona Higgins. So far, Hoeflich has been keeping the runs to a minimum, sporting a 2.66 ERA in 29.0 innings pitched. She also has a relatively low walk and hits per inning at 1.38, having given up 28 hits and walking 12. She has struck out 13 batters, which is second on the team. She is 3-2 on the season.
Morgan has had trouble keeping runners off base with her 2.10 WHIP, but most of the runs that have been scored against her have been unearned, lowering her season ERA to 2.80. Of her 14 runs allowed only four of them are earned, typically a sign of poor defense behind her.
Higgins has not had the same success as the other two. So far she has a 4.15 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP, giving up 26 runs, 17 of them being earned. In her 28.2 innings pitched, she walked 18 batters and allowed 31 hits. She is looking to turn her season around as the season goes on.
Overall the Oswego State softball team has not hit its stride, but as the season goes on, it can turn up the level of play as the rust continues to get shaken off since it had been over 700 days since their last game back in the 2019 season.
The Lakers are slated to play SUNY Geneseo Friday at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
William Rogers | The Oswegonian
