Cedarville University Yellow Jackets

March 16, 2020
Due to COVID-19, this past week has been one to remember. All spring sports have been canceled, and this unfortunately brought the Lady Jacket 2020 season to a close. This news not only came with heartbreak but also reflection. The seniors didn’t know that Florida would be the last few games of their career or that Thursday was going to be their last time hitting off the pitching machines (or that Friday would be the last time removing the tarp...not too sad about that one :).
 

Due to the abrupt end to the season, all of the seniors didn’t think they would be getting some of the “senior gifts” usually presented to them on Senior Day. However, the team decided to throw together senior scrapbooks. The team presented them to us, seniors, during our last team lunch at Clifton Mill. This was a complete surprise and brought us to tears. That moment was so special and will be cherished forever. So, thank you! Thank you parents, friends, and fans for supporting us all the way. (Through the rain and snow). Thank you, coaches, for four great years of softball. Through the ups and downs you have always believed in us. You have challenged us to not only improve our physical skills in softball but also in our character and relationship with God.

As the seniors look back on their career as a Lady Jacket, they remember past practices, pranks, bus rides, team dinners, victories, and losses. Being a Yellow Jacket athlete has been nothing short of a blessing. Playing alongside sisters in Christ who all play for a greater purpose is irreplaceable. For the seniors, even though our softball career has been cut short, our mission in this world to glorify God remains. As we take our next steps, we look back with appreciation and gratitude of being able to compete as a Yellow Jacket. As this season of our lives has come to a close, we want to thank Cedarville Athletics for their continual service to their student athletes and also to the Lord. Being able to call ourselves Cedarville athletes for the past four years has come with great pride. Thank you!


March 11, 2020
Here is a picture of the Lady Jackets after enjoying a meal together with their parents. The Lady Jackets want to say a huge thank you to the parents for hosting three team dinners and a special thank you to Mrs. Kerry Smith for organizing them! The Lady Jackets had amazing fan support for the entirety of the trip. Thank you to everyone who sacrificed their time and money to come and cheer us on:)

Day 7: We came from behind and beat Georgian Court 4-2. The Lady Jackets were losing 2-0 going into the bottom of the fourth inning. With Sophia up to bat, the bases were loaded and Sophia laid down a beautiful squeeze bunt to score a run. Kylie then gets up to bat and unloads the bases with a three-run double giving us the lead. In the last inning Heather and Sarah had a 4-6-3 double play to clinch the win. The second game was a heartbreaking loss to Glenville State. Kylie hit a RBI double. Sarah tied the career home run record at 17 with a two-run HR. Hannah also hit a two run home run.

Day 8: Brooke hit her first and second collegiate home runs against Mercyhurst bringing in the only runs for the Lady Jackets, but unfortunately those runs were not enough to get the win. The next game was against undefeated University of Charleston. It was a close game all the way through so I will give you the rundown:) The first run was scored with a home run from Hannah in the first inning. After Heather had a single in the third inning, Hannah hit her in with a double to right field. The score was tied 2-2 for the majority of the game until Charleston scored a run in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs in the top of the seventh, Sophia hit a single, Kylie walked, Heather walked to load the bases, and then Hannah hit a ground ball up the middle. The second baseman dove, stopped it and tried to throw Heather out at second but was unsuccessful. After three outs the score was tied 3-3. We held them in the bottom of the seventh. Then we went into the International Tie-Breaker. Carrie was bunted from second base to third base by Arica and then Sarah bunted so that Carrie could score on the throw to first but Carrie slipped trying to go so then Sarah got out and Carrie is still at third with two outs. Sophia then hits another single to score Carrie and then Brooke hits the ball to the fence to score Sophia. Then McKenna hits the ball to right and the right fielder makes a diving catch to end the inning. So now the score is 5-3. Charleston bunted their first runner over to third and then they grounded out to first base but scored that run. So now there are two outs and no runners on and the score is 5-4. The next batter hit a grounder to Sarah for the last out. That was a huge win for us!

Day 9: We lost both games to Quincy and Southern Indiana. Sarah broke the home run record with #18. There are plenty more games in the season so we’ll see how many more she can rack up!

The Lady Jackets are scheduled to play at home this upcoming weekend against Saginaw Valley State (Friday at 3 PM) and Davenport (Saturday at 12 PM).


March 4, 2020
This picture was taken right before we left Cedarville to head to the Columbus airport. If you look closely, you can see little white specks everywhere. The snow looks nice and cute for pictures but during softball season, we don’t want anything to do with it:) Thankfully Florida has kept us far from it!

After landing in Orlando and getting our luggage and getting the rental vans and getting dinner, we made it to our hotel around 11 p.m. Just in time to get right to bed to get some rest before our first games the next day. After playing 10 games in Florida, the Lady Jackets are 3-7. Our hitting, pitching, and defense have all improved since being down here in the Sunshine State but have still not been enough to consistently beat good competition. Here are some highlights from the first few days of play.

Day 1: McKenna had 5 hits during the doubleheader and complimented her hitting with outstanding defense at third base. Hannah, Arica, and Annie all had their first collegiate home run! The Lady Jackets got their first win of the season against Notre Dame OH (10-4) totaling 13 hits for that game.

Day 2: Olivia pitched a great game against highly-ranked St. Anselm. McKenna threw a shutout against the University of Mary (8-0). Heather went 3-4 and Arica went 3-3 bringing our total hits to 10 for that game.

Day 3: Hannah went 3-4 with three doubles and Sarah went 4-4. The Lady Jackets mercied Felician. In the second game, Heather had a home run. The Lady Jackets were behind one run going into the top of the 7th inning against Saint Rose. We tied it up but couldn’t hold them off when they had the bat in their hand.

Day 4: The whole team along with the parents went to Celebration Church. It was great worshiping together as a team. It allowed us to take a break from the softball field and focus all of our attention on the Lord. He is the reason we are out there on the field! Because it was our day off, everyone got to do whatever they wanted with their families. Some went to the beach, some went to Disney Springs, some went shopping at the outlets, and some took much needed naps:)

Day 5: We lost both games against Grand Valley State and Concordia St. Paul so that was a bummer but Liz pitched a great game against Concordia!

Day 6: It was just rough...we lost both games to Seton Hill and Saginaw Valley.

This has definitely not been the start that we had all imagined or hoped for but we understand that it is in these moments of defeat where the strength and character of a team is tested and revealed. Coach Kelsey states, “Don’t let this define us but let it refine us.” We aren’t letting our past performance dictate how the rest of the season unfolds!


Feb. 24, 2020
This past weekend only brought more losses for the Lady Jackets. With a record of 0-8, the Lady Jackets are ready to start climbing out of the hole we have dug ourselves into. This has definitely not been the start of the season any of us had been expecting, but we are not calling it quits. The season still holds roughly 46 games and we have not yet proven the great team we are capable of being. The team leaves for Florida this Wednesday in hopes of getting back on track! With 16 games scheduled, the Lady Jackets are aware of how critical the upcoming week is.

Despite the losses, there are some individual highlights of the weekend. Heather Lord had three hits and one RBI in our games against Tusculum. Arica Flaugher had two hits in our first game against Tusculum with one of them being a rocket to center field that fell just inches short of being a home run. Sophia Hevel pounded the ball to the right field fence making it to third with ease. Sarah Parsons played an incredible shortstop over the weekend making two single-handed double plays.

With long hours on the bus, different people have different objectives they want to accomplish. The two primary objectives are sleeping and studying. A lot of the players have mid-terms they are studying for including Ashley Bortlein. Pictured below is Ashley’s ingenious contraption to help her study. Just across the aisle Kara Eiginger is trying to get some sleep with her sleep mask. I hope both of them were successful in their endeavors :)
   
The last picture on the right was taken after we ate at Mooyah. I’m pretty sure the stack of coloring pages and bucket of crayons on the counter were intended for younger customers, but that did not stop us. The team is well aware of everyone’s athletic abilities but we rarely see each other's artistic abilities. For some, I hope it’s the last :) In order to break up the long hours on the bus, singing is a must and the High School Musical soundtrack is always at the top of the list. I hope the passengers on the flight to Florida don’t mind :)

Florida bound!


Feb. 19, 2020 The Lady Jackets played their first four games of the season this past weekend. The team expected our trip south to be a warmer start to the season, but as you can see from this picture of Kara Eiginger, that was definitely not the case. I don’t think one player walked out on the field without a hand warmer in their back pocket. The dugout was full of players huddled around torpedo heaters but only one person stood a little too close...let’s just say Coach Rowe had to buy a new pair of sweat pants after our trip:) I guess we didn’t need to prank him this week!
 

The Lady Jackets came out of the weekend winless. It was an Icy Start to the season but it allowed us to see our strengths and weaknesses and how we can get better. Despite the four losses, the Lady Jackets are ready to compete and prove themselves this upcoming weekend. The team is traveling back to Tennessee for at least two more games against Tusculum before heading out to Florida for Spring Break.

A few game highlights include Brooke Miller with a pair of doubles in our game against McKendree. One of which was an RBI. Both Brooke Miller and McKenna Smith came out of the weekend with our team's highest batting average of .333. The Lady Jacket defense recorded only three errors over the span of the weekend with two games having zero errors. Freshman catcher, Kylie Hertzler, had a great debut behind the plate throwing a couple runners out and having several key blocks to keep runners from advancing.

Our final game against Lincoln Memorial (ranked 13th in the nation) was a highlight of itself. Senior pitcher, Lucia Eroshevich, pitched an incredible eight innings to limit LMU to eight hits and five runs. Cedarville was winning in the bottom of the 8th (4-2) with LMU runners on first and second with two outs. Unfortunately, a walk-off home run won the game for them. Even though we lost, that game showed us that we can compete with anyone.

We are ready for Tennessee Take Two!


Feb. 13, 2020
This coming weekend launches the Lady Jackets into their 2020 spring season. We have been training all pre-season to turn T-drills into home runs, conditioning into stolen bases, pitching practice into strikeouts, and fielding drills into double plays. We are launching our competitive season in Tennessee....Not quite the sunshine state but that will come later :)

The Lady Jackets will face NCAA II #13 Lincoln Memorial, McKendree, Tusculum, and Davis & Elkins in our first two weekends of play. Cedarville’s Doden Field House is a great facility and has allowed us to prep for our season but we are ready to get out of there and onto a field! The LED lights and the rubber floor don’t quite compare to the sun and dirt. I’m sure the laundry staff is thrilled that our season is just around the corner and soon they will be working to get grass and dirt stains out of our uniforms. Thank you in advance for taking care of us :)

If you recall, the Lady Jackets finished fourth in regular season play last year and competed in the G-MAC Championship game but fell short to Hillsdale. In the preseason coaches poll, the Lady Jackets were ranked fifth. We were not satisfied with that prediction but are ready to prove ourselves on the softball field. The coaching staff is excited about the potential of this year’s team and we are all anticipating a great 2020 season.

At the start of the fall semester, the five seniors chose the phrase “everything matters” to be the statement that drives our individual and team thinking and actions. Everything that we think, do, and say should be a testimony to Christ. How we choose to practice, play, cheer, and handle disappointment should be filtered through this mind set. Psalm 115:1 was chosen to be the team verse that reflects the statement “everything matters.” “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.” This truth helps us align our thinking and actions to what ultimately matters: Christ.

The Lady Jackets have done nothing to deserve any recognition or honors. It is all because of Christ’s love and faithfulness that we are able to walk out onto a field and display the God who lives inside of us. Every time we exit the bus, tie up our spikes, huddle as a team, and take the field, we each have a responsibility: A responsibility that is far greater than winning a softball game...even though that’s the goal every time :) Our responsibility is to play like everything matters which ultimately is giving glory to the One who has brought us to where we are now.

Ready for take off!

Heather and Hannah


Twin sisters Heather and Hannah Lord, from Marietta, Ohio are four-year members of the Lady Jacket softball team. They are Dean's List students as exercise science majors at Cedarville University.