CSM caps spring season
Softball enjoy solid spring, other teams suffer losing seasons
Earlier this month, the College of Southern Maryland spring sports teams collectively capped their seasons, with the squads running the gamut from very successful to winless.
For the second straight season, the CSM softball team (2513 overall, 12-6 in the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference) ascended to the head of
the class among spring sports teams on campus, although the Hawks did not advance quite as far as they had the year before. The softball team began the season 9-1 and later added an eight-game win streak before heading into the postseason on a four-game skid.
“We had a smaller roster this season and we had a lot of girls playing hurt,” CSM head softball coach Jim Cleary said. “We just could not give girls any rest. I thought our pitching was very good all season. We were playing really good defense until the last two weeks because we just could not get any of our players any rest.”
CSM made quick work of Hagerstown in the opening round of the Region XX tournament on April 29 with 12-2 and 9-1 victories, but the Hawks dropped a tough, 3-2 setback to Chesapeake and then were trounced 12-2 by CCBC-Catonsville in the subsequent two rounds on May 7 and were promptly eliminated from the double-elimination tournament.
“Next year, I am hoping to carry 14 to 16 players on the roster so that we have a little more depth and have the chance to give some girls a rest,” Cleary said.
Sophomore pitcher Chloe Day, a Great Mills High School graduate from Lexington Park who is headed to the University of Mary Washington (Va.) this fall was named as a first-team selection on the All-MDJUCO team as was sophomore first baseman Allison McLane, a Chopticon High School graduate from Mechanicsville who is heading to Alderson Broaddus University (W.Va.) this fall. Freshman outfielder Emily Gibson, a Calvert High School graduate from Lusby, was tabbed for second team honors.
The CSM baseball team (12-27, 6-20) suffered through several peaks and valleys this season, but won five more games in 2017 than it did in 2016. The Hawks won their first two games of the season on Feb. 25 against Central Penn — the first of four two-game win streaks during the campaign — before losing its next 12. The campaign closed May 6 with a split of CCBC-Essex in a doubleheader to make up an April 22 postponement, falling 3-1 in the opener then winning 3-2 in Game 2.
“I was proud of how the team continued to develop as the season progressed,” CSM firstyear head coach Aaron Michael said. “We played ver y well down the stretch run of the season and beat a lot of quality teams. Our sophomores this year will be missed going forward, but they have helped our freshman class develop over the course of the season and we look forward to next year’s campaign.”
Like the baseball team, the CSM men’s lacrosse team (5-8, 0-5) traveled through a roller coaster at times during the season.
Overall, the Hawks were outscored 228-136 during their 13 contests, which included a 21-3 victory over CCBC-Catonsville on April 5 when CSM sprinted to a 17-0 lead and a 23-12 on April 14 for the team’s only two wins of the month. They also were blanked twice during the season — 26-0 by Harford on March 16 and 34-0 by Howard on April 1 — and ended it with a 24-7 loss to Monroe (N.Y.) on April 20.
“This season was a great building block for future success,” CSM first-year head coach Steven Foote said. “Our team has come a long way since day one and we are getting better each day. The number of returners has doubled from the previous season and we are bringing in quality recruits. We have the opportunity to grow into a regional force and then a national power. I am glad I had the opportunity to coach this team and I’m proud to be a Hawk.”
The CSM women’s lacrosse team (0-6) played a club schedule this spring due to a shortage of experienced players.
“Women’s lacrosse had a challenging year going club,” CSM first-year head coach Doug Otten said. “We had many new players with no experience and some experienced players. The team played well together and got better with each game we played. We look forward to building upon this for next year.”
Despite only having only four players on the roster, sophomores Mark Escanilla (a North Point High School from Waldorf) and Bryan Bowser (a Northern High School graduate from Dunkirk) and freshmen Alex O’Neil (a St. Mary’s Ryken High School graduate from Newburg) and Ryan Stearns (a Leonardtown High School graduate from Leonardtown), the CSM golf team recorded one match victory during the spring and competed in the MDJUCO tournament on April 26.