FSU Softball Goes 19-16 in 2014

Frostburg, MD- A successful season for the Frostburg State University (FSU) softball team has now come to an end. The girls had to overcome a lot of adversity this season, and still finished with an overall record of 19-16 and an impressive 8-4 Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) record. In the conference tournament, the Bobcats beat two quality opponents in York and Mary Washington, but ultimately were eliminated by two losses to the elite Salisbury team who finished with a staggering 35-3 record. It is also noteworthy to recognize that Frostburg scored six runs against Salisbury in their 6-11 loss, more than any other team this season.  The FSU softball team also had a lot of individual success this season with five players receiving all-CAC honors. Amongst those named were Hannah Tavik, Lauren Capece, Savannah Hose, Renay Aubel and the record breaking senior Caitlin Lovend.

Caitlin Lovend had a phenomenal season as usual this year. Lovend was named the CAC Rookie of the Year back in 2011 and received her fourth consecutive all-CAC honor this season. Lovend has also broken pretty much every school record in her extraordinary four year career at FSU. She now holds the career record for home runs (41), RBI (158), batting average (.424), slugging percentage (.768) and walks (91).

“We’re not going to replace Caitlin” said Head Coach Wes Landrum, “We can put someone else in her position, but we can’t replace her talent. It’s going to be a big loss.” Landrum also praised Lovend for her work ethic off the field, commending her for receiving all-academic team honors twice and probably a third time this year.

Despite the loss of their most valuable player in Lovend, the Bobcats are returning a youthful, but experienced team next year.  The team had three freshmen starters, including Hannah Tavik, Megan Tracy and Emily Zengel. Lovend is the only senior on the roster, and according to Coach Landrum, there are four recruits that have already committed to FSU, adding even more depth to the team.

The team owes a lot of their success their season to freshmen stand-out, Hannah Tavik. Tavik finished the season leading the team in the following categories: batting average (.431), RBI (45), hits (50), total bases (91), slugging percentage (.784), runs batted in (45). In addition to her impressive at-bat stats, Tavik also was the team’s best pitcher, according to Coach Landrum. Tavik had the most wins (12), and also the lowest ERA (3.31). With all of this success coming as a freshman, Lovend’s career records may not be too safe.

Sophomore in-fielder Lauren Capece also had a great season this year. Capece started all 35 games, and finished with the second best batting average (.346). She also finished third in home runs with 6, just behind Lovend and Tavik who had 11 and 10, respectively. Capece is very enthusiastic looking forward to next year. She said, “I’m excited to see who comes out next year.” Capece added, “I think we can be a very successful team, and I have high expectations.”

Another huge contributor to the Bobcat’s success this year was sophomore Renay Aubel. Aubel finished right behind Capece in batting average (.341), and made a lot of big plays for the team this year.

Aubel said, “I think that our season went okay.” She added, “I think as a team we could have done better, but it’s hard to get into a rhythm when you have so many games cancelled or postponed.”

Bad weather definitely had a big impact on the season, and was the cause for the cancellation of nine double-headers this season, compared to only one cancellation last year. “The season was a huge success considering the weather,” said Coach Landrum. “We only practiced outside four times the entire season!”

Coach Landrum and Caitlin Lovend both have high hopes for the returning team next year. Lovend said, “I expect next year’s team to be young with a lot of potential. This team did a great job playing against ranked opponents, and I hope they take that focus and beat CNU and Salisbury next year for the CAC title.”

With a pitcher and hitter like Hannah Tavik, and three other all-CAC honorees returning to the lineup next year, the Bobcats are very dangerous indeed.