After a powerful offense drove the softball team to 32 wins last season, the Cardinals traveled to Atlanta during the weekend with hopes of generating more offensive electricity.
The team suffered a power outage at the plate, however, scoring seven runs and dropping four of five games at the Georgia State Invitational.
The Cardinals (1-4) won their opening game on Saturday against Drexel 1-0, but then struggled against host Georgia State and No. 7 Iowa, losing 3-2 and 5-1, respectively. Sunday did not treat the team any better, as they opened with a 10-1 pounding at the hands of Boston College before finishing the weekend with a 4-2 loss to Tennessee.
"Our offense hurt us," head coach Terri Laux said. "Some of our big hitters didn't hit at all, and we weren't consistent with our timely hits. We got people on but couldn't drive them in. We have enough experience where that shouldn't happen."
The lone bright spot at the plate for the Cardinals was sophomore rightfielder Kris Burdine. Burdine went 3-4 at the plate against both Georgia State and Tennessee, picking up her first collegiate home run against the Volunteers, and tallying three RBIs on the weekend. Laux also praised the efforts of junior shortstop Katie Shea at the plate and junior utility player Angie Ludwig in the field.
"Angie made it hard for me to take her out of the lineup," Laux said. "She didn't start the first couple of games, but she was really aggressive on defense and did a nice job."
Laux said the lack of offensive production was largely mental, and the Cardinals' problems at the plate put pressure on the team's defense and pitching, causing a snowball effect. Despite the lack of offense, Laux said the team's defense was solid for so early in the season, and that her young pitching staff performed well in their first action of the season.
"We always try to play better in each game and as the tournament progressed, we didn't do that," Laux said. "We didn't do anything better from game to game. Obviously we didn't win the number of games we wanted to win. We'll have to see where this takes us. With hope, we'll choose the high road from here."
The Cardinals take this weekend off before traveling south for spring break to play in the Florida State Tournament.
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