By Kurt Jensen
The softball team hopes to continue its high offensive output this weekend as it plays in the South Florida Tournament.
“We”ve really focused on our hitting the last few years and it”s shown,” said head coach Mary Kay Amicone.
She said most of the offensive output is coming from home runs, which helps the team always stay competitive in a game, no matter what the score is.
“That”s the fun thing about our team – the game is really never out of reach,” Amicone said.
This weekend the softball team plays five games in three days.
On Thursday BYU (11-8) faces Maryland (7-5) and Houston (14-7). Friday the team plays Michigan State (7-8) and Florida International (16-13). The Cougars finish up the tournament on Saturday with a game against Georgia State (9-11).
The team is also trying to extend a six-game winning streak.
“We definitely have found some confidence in a lot of areas,” Amicone said.
Sophomore pitcher Ariel Capra also said the recent victories have been helpful as the team heads to Florida for the tournament.
“It”s a big confidence builder for us to beat top ranked teams,” she said.
Having won six straight, the Cougars need to continue to perform at the level they are capable of in order to avoid overconfidence, according to Capra.
“You just have to play at the level you play at and not the level of your competition,” she said.
Capra said the first game of the tournament is important to win in order to prepare the team for the rest of the weekend.
“It gets us ready for the other games,” Capra said. “It gets us going in the right direction.”
Sophomore All-American Oli Keohohou and junior outfielder Brooke Cadiente lead the Cougars” offense.
Keohohou and Cadiente both lead the team in home runs with eight each.
Keohohou also leads the team in batting average at .488 and runs scored with 21.
Cadiente leads the Cougars in hits and RBIs, with 23 hits and 27 RBIs.
She was awarded softball player of the week honors for the Mountain West Conference.
