FALL WRAPUP: GS Softball Makes Strides Heading Into 2020
11/7/2019 2:00:00 PM | Softball
STATESBORO - The Georgia Southern softball team wrapped up its 2019 Fall season and head coach Kim Dean is excited about her team's progress looking ahead to the 2020 Spring campaign.
The Eagles dealt with weather issues throughout the Fall, but were able to get in three dates of competition, taking on Georgia Military College, Georgia Highlands and East Georgia at Eagle Field.
Coach Dean then hosted a Fall World Series where the team split into two squads, "Blue" and "Gray." After again having to deal with weather issues, the "Gray" squad came out on top.
Below are Coach Dean's thoughts on the Fall season. Georgia Southern will open up the Spring 2020 campaign by hosting the Bash in the Boro on Feb. 7-9. Stay tuned to GSEagles.com as the full 2020 Spring schedule will be released soon!
Head Coach Kim Dean
On her overall thoughts about how the Fall season
"I was really happy with how we came together more in the locker room, than necessarily on the field. We have 10 new people out of our 22 roster, so really being able to facilitate the team camaraderie and team cohesion that we're trying to achieve. We're a very system oriented program. So the more we can have them appreciate each other and display the hard work necessary to make all of our systems run appropriately, the better the transition period would be with the new kids. I saw a lot of different leaders step up this Fall."
On the positive takeaways from the Fall games against GMC, Georgia Highlands and East Georgia
"I'm really excited about this year. We definitely had some elite returners coming back, but we have some younger kids who have really stepped up quick. I saw really good team cohesion. We had a lot of opportunities to get our younger kids into those games, and I think they really showed that they understand what we're trying to achieve here. They know why they were recruited to come here. They played within their role and they dominated where they needed to. The games that we had, I was really impressed with the group that I think are going to have the larger roles. They did a good job of showing the direction the program is in. The Fall games did a good job helping situating the board, helping see where people are starting to fall. I think Fall was definitely successful. The games we were able to play, our leaders stepped up, our roles really started to define themselves and it really allowed for more efficient practices. This Fall we were able to put people in positions that we needed to see. We were a lot more game speed this year more than we've ever been."
On the success of the first Fall World Series for GS Softball
"It was our first World Series, but we're excited to keep this new tradition going next year. Weather played a little bit of a role, so we had to get creative in how we found our Game One winner. Game Two fell into the hands of Mother Nature as well, but at least we got to play and were able to get a few innings in. Going into Game Three, we had a tied series, and our "Gray" team ended up winning! We have a very competitive bunch. They really enjoyed the World Series. One thing that I'm really impressed about from this Fall is how competitive they're becoming, but in a healthy way. There was lot of banter and a lot of fun, everybody was cheering everybody on. Any time you can let them get out there and play, let them show off to one another, it shows where your team morale is. We had a lot of team energy, a lot of efficient execution and it was a lot of fun!"
