By Jim Richards
First-year SMCC softball coach Kristina Schmallen wants everyone to know that nobody should give up on her softball club.
A 3-9 league mark doesn’t look like much, but the SMCC softball team is right in the thick of the playoff race for the ACCAC Division II playoffs.
“The playoffs are so far away,” said Schmallen of the NJCAA Region I Div.II Tournament that runs May 1 and 2. “There’s plenty of time to make the playoffs. We’re getting better and better every day.”
The Division II Cougars have evenly split six ACCAC games with DII opponents and entered the week only two games out of the fourth-and-final playoff spot.
And that’s despite a difficult early portion of the schedule that sent the Cougars against DI opponents in 8 of 12 ACCAC games.
Division I schools of the ACCAC have a distinct advantage and it shows in the standings. Through March 1, the five DI schools of the ACCAC have a 37-11 league mark. The eight DII schools have a 29-53 record.
Like all levels of fast-pitch softball, pitching comprises a lot of a team’s success.
And pitching is scarce in softball-rich Arizona after NCAA schools get their picks of top prep talent in the area.
“We all fight for the same 10 pitchers and there are 12 teams in our conference,” Schmallen said. “(Phoenix College) and Yavapai are going to get first dibs on everyone.”
But Schmallen is thrilled with her pitching tandem of Quintina Begay and Heather Vega, two pitchers Schmallen says are the best conditioned athletes in the sport.
“They’ve worked extremely hard to better themselves,” Schmallen said. “They are two of the best conditioned pitchers in the conference. I do that so they can pitch seven, eight or nine innings. They have to have a lot of stamina.
“Pitching is the name of the game. We’ve walked only 12 people in 14 (overall) games. Our pitching is a lot better than I had anticipated.”
Kathie Corbin leads the team with a .414 average. Sarah Alexander, the lead-off hitter, is hitting .383. Vega is hitting .348.
Schmallen has divided the season in three portions, the fall season, the regular season and the playoff season.
“Right now we’re focusing on our second season,” she said. “Our goal is to make the playoffs. The tough early schedule, I think, has been a blessing in disguise.”
Following the March 10 outing at Eastern Arizona, the Cougars will play their final 11 outings (double-headers) against DII opponents.
“Do I want to see more W’s? Yes,” Schmallen said. “I just want the kids to work hard every day and become better ballplayers. Most of our losses have come in the last couple of innings. They’re coming together as a team.”