Lady Lakers Set to Make Home Season Opening Debut this Weekend
By Matt Troll
CANANDAIGUA -- The Lady Lakers, after a 16-day hiatus away from the sport of softball, will return to action on Saturday to host No. 3 Herkimer County CC. Taking on the Lady Generals in an afternoon doubleheader, the weekend showdown between Finger Lakes CC and Herkimer County will mark the first time this season that the Lady Lakers have played on their own field. First pitch will be thrown at 1 pm.
The Lady Lakers haven't seen any game action since Thursday, Mar. 21. Finger Lakes, playing in a pair of games back on that March afternoon, fell to conference foe Onondaga CC 7-0 before defeating Alfred State College by the score of 10-6. Both contests took place in Myrtle Beach, SC.
The Lady Lakers, currently 2-6 on the season, will enter play on Saturday boasting a talented roster. Star recruit Rachel Mertens has shined bright in the batter's box and on the mound in her freshman year with the team. With her bat, she is hitting an even .500 (11 for 22) in eight games played. Her arm, in addition to her offense, has produced solid numbers thus far this spring. She currently leads the team in strikeouts (32) and in ERA (3.61).
Along with Mertens, the rest of the Lady Lakers roster has been producing at the plate as well as on the field with its gloves. As a team, Finger Lakes is hitting .342. Defensively, the Lady Lakers have committed just eight errors. Overall, they currently support a .963 fielding percentage.
The team's top hitter is presently Katie Plummer. Hitting .529 during the early portion of her freshman year, the Hilton, NY native, along with Mertens, are joined by the hitting efforts of Tamara Robertson (.400), Elaina Evinsky (.391), Andrea Davis (.364), Samantha German (.346), and Courtney Edger (.318).
The Lady Generals, currently experiencing a six-game winning streak, will come into the weekend supporting an 8-1 record. Saturday's meetings will be the second and third times in which both teams have faced one another this season. The two saw each other back on opening day on Monday, Mar. 18 in Myrtle Beach. In that contest, the Lady Lakers fell 10-1.