USF Athletics

USF Softball Ready to Be Tested Early, Often in 2019

January 30, 2019

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By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, JAN. 30, 2019 – Fresh off a conference regular season title run last spring, USF softball is motivated to achieve more program success with a new batch of Bulls in 2019.

Ten newcomers have entered the mix while six returning starters look to lead the Bulls through a 56-game regular season schedule that also includes a marquee matchup with Team Japan. The rest of the 2019 slate features tests against eight NCAA Regional teams, three Super Regional opponents and one Women's College World Series squad.

In typical program fashion, the Bulls will be challenged early and often by big-name opponents. During the USF Opening Weekend Invitational, USF will host Illinois State (Feb. 7), No. 7/6 Arizona (Feb. 8), No. 19/14 Michigan (Feb. 9), NC State (Feb. 9) and No. 5 Florida (Feb. 10).

"Why not start out the way you start out?" head coach Ken Eriksen said during Wednesday's team media day session. "… We're posturing ourselves well with getting great competition, challenging ourselves early and getting some (players) that don't have a lot of game experience right into the fire right away. It's what we do. It's the way we've always been."

Right after facing Florida, Eriksen's Bulls will gain of bevy of beneficial experience facing Team Japan at USF Softball Stadium on Monday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m.

"It's like us playing against the '27 Yankees," Eriksen said.

Competition in practice continues to heat up as Bulls battle for lineup spots that could be decided during this weekend's rehearsal games. By next Thursday's season opener, Eriksen said fans will see a blue-collar team that's already impressed him with its ability to pick things up quickly this preseason.

"This might be one of the most intelligent teams I've ever had. Does that necessarily translate into W's? I'll let you know in May, but these (players) have grasped a lot of concepts early," Eriksen said. "They work very hard. They bring their lunch bucket to practice every single day. There hasn't been a day that's gone by where we could say there's no effort out there."

By the end of March, USF will begin its pursuit of a second straight AAC regular season title after being chosen as the preseason conference favorite by league coaches.

Eriksen and his Bulls are focused on the first task at hand, however, which is game 1 of the season.

"I'm thinking about the first inning against Illinois State and then we go from there," Eriksen said.

"It's kind of like when you go out on the water to go fishing. You're hoping that the first place you stop at you catch. If not, you go on," Eriksen continued. "You make adjustments with your lures. You make adjustments with your tackle, and that's what we're going to do. That's the way we have to look at it. This is all cross-that-bridge-when-we-get-to-it type stuff. We do have the lures and we do have the tackle to change out what we need to hopefully be successful and catch some W's."

More on the Japan Game
Ken Eriksen has lots of experience facing Team Japan through the years as head coach of Team USA and jumped at the chance to have USF take on the world's No. 2 team in 2019.

"(Japan is) trying to get as much practice time as they can (for the 2020 Olympics) and they're trying to learn some American culture stuff, just as we have done some studying of Japan culture with Team USA to understand what makes them tick," Eriksen said. "… Hopefully we'll give them some good competition."

Team Japan will face the Bulls on Monday, Feb. 11 at USF Softball Stadium during its U.S. tour. USF's players are pumped up about getting to play a high-caliber opponent like Team Japan and pick up pointers they can use during the remaining stretch of the season.

"We were all very, very excited," said senior pitcher Cheyenne Eggens of hearing the Team Japan news. "… Every time you play a new team, you get new tools and you learn how to play the game another way. We're all really excited."

Bulls Bits

• MORE ON THE LINEUP: Eriksen is still mulling over his lineup cards for the season, but expect to see a lot of first team all-conference infielder Lindsey Devitt. The senior from Jacksonville, Fla., led the Bulls with a .379 batting average while appearing in 61 games for USF in 2018. "That's a no-brainer for us. I think she'll be batting in the third spot," Eriksen said. "You can surround her with about seven or eight different people in different type of alignments. We're hoping to see some things this weekend when we play our rehearsal games. Hopefully by Monday-Tuesday, I'll have an idea of what's going on."
• WHY 99?: Senior pitcher Cheyenne Eggens (Vienna, Ohio) gave a great answer when asked why she sports No. 99 for the Bulls during Wednesday's media session. "I have always worn 99. When I was a kid, I wanted to be the highest number on the field. I wanted to be 100, but you can't have three numbers on a jersey, so I had to be 99."

 
About USF Softball
Be sure to follow USF softball on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. The USF softball program has been one of the most successful on campus, making 12 NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the Women's College World Series in 2012.