Sports

Softball goes to Georgia for season opening Kickoff Classic, picks up one win

Break out the gloves, the bats and the cleats because the 2015 softball season is officially in full swing.

The Golden Eagles began the season this past weekend with the Kennesaw State University Kickoff Classic. The two-day tournament pitted Tech against Northern Kentucky University, Ohio University, Dayton University and Kennesaw State University. Tech opened Day One of the event with a 10-0 rout of Northern Kentucky University, but fell later in the day to Ohio University 4-3. Day Two of the event saw Tech lose a blowout to Dayton University by a score of 8-3 and lose a close one to Kennesaw State by a score of 1-0.

Even with leaving the weekend with a 1-3 record, head coach Bonnie Bynum wasn’t too disappointed with what she saw from her team.

“I thought we played three solid ballgames,” said Bynum. “There was only one game where I don’t feel like we showed up and really did our job the way we should have.”

Next up on the Golden Eagles’ plate is a three-day tournament in Statesboro, Georgia, for the Georgia Southern Invitational. The Golden Eagles will take on four teams over the course of the five-game tournament. Tech will play Georgia Southern (0-4) twice.

Bynum said her ladies are in for a test this weekend, but they aren’t too worried about the team in the other dugout.

“Georgia Southern is a good team that is constantly in the postseason, so we know they’re going to be solid,” said Bynum. “We just worry about playing our game. As long as we play the game that we practice and work on every day, we know that we’ll be successful.”

The first two weekends of the Golden Eagles’ schedule aren’t the only weekends that will require the team to travel. After the two trips to Georgia, the Golden Eagles will still have a trip to South Carolina to make before they finish the month of February. This team will not see any home action until March 21.

Bynum acknowledged the tough road schedule the team has before them, but she said the Golden Eagles aren’t fazed by it.

“Not being able to get four or five days’ worth of practice in is a little tough, so we’ve got to make sure that we are focusing and working on things from the past weekend in the practices that we do get,” said Bynum. “It is a little bit challenging being on the road so much, but I don’t think that it’s something we need to use as an excuse.”

With the long road trips and the tough opponents Tech will face this season, it won’t be an easy path for the Golden Eagles, but it should be interesting.