Softball

Swinging for a Title

LEADERS: Softball coach Michelle Burrell (center) and team co-captains Sam Carr '07 and Jena Robertson '07.

When Michelle Burrell was named Rochester’s new softball coach in July 2005, the program was coming off its best season ever, but the team had also endured several recent coaching changes and desperately needed a constant, steadying presence at the helm.

“When I came in, there had been a transition in coaching each year,” she says. “The girls were frustrated because of that. It lacked consistency. You could tell coming in that it was kind of scattered.”

Nearly two years later, has Burrell stopped the coaching revolving door? She thinks so.

“Well, I’m still here,” she says with a smile.

Burrell and the players are hoping that newfound stability will translate into even more success on the field. In 2006, the Yellowjackets advanced to the third round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Upstate New York playoffs, placed second in the Liberty League and third in the UAA, and produced their second 20-plus win season in a row.

This spring, the team won a share of the UAA title and earned Rochester’s first top 25 ranking in softball.

As the 2007 season got under way, team leaders had their sights set high.

“We want to go past the ECACs and get to the NCAA tournament,” says senior pitcher and shortstop and co-captain Jena Robertson ’07. “The talent is there.”

At times last year, Rochester struggled on the mound, where youth and inexperience proved to be an Achilles heel for the team. But with another year under the hurlers’ belts, the Yellowjackets believe that the squad’s pitching rotation—which also includes junior Carly Hoffend ’08 and sophomore Beth Ameno ’09—will, like their coach, bring steadiness to the team.

At the plate, the team is led by Robertson, who earned All-Liberty League first-team honors and was named to the All-Region squad for the third year in a row.

Despite the pitching experience and big bats at the plate, the team includes only two seniors—Robertson and fellow co-captain Sam Carr ’07.

“We lost a lot of seniors (after last season),” says Robertson, “so we’re looking for some underclassmen to step up.”

The team might be young, but Burrell says it’s also in better shape than it ever has been. When she arrived on campus, the coach instituted a tough strength and conditioning regimen, which should pay dividends with the team’s performance.

“We’ve had an overall improvement in athletic ability,” says Burrell. “We’re a lot quicker and stronger in the field.”

The Yellowjackets will need to be in prime condition if they want to achieve their biggest goal—a berth in the NCAA Division III tournament. Burrell even hopes that eventually, the team will contend for a national title.

“That’s a goal any coach has,” she says. “That’s why you get into coaching, to be the best you can be.”

The Yellowjackets are hoping that Burrell has brought the kind of stability that will be a key to such success.

“They know what to expect from me now,” Burrell says. “We’re all on the same page.”

—Ryan Whirty

Whirty writes about sports for Rochester Review.