MGCCC softball starts over with 19 new players
August 15, 2008
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College softball coach Kenneth Long spent nearly every during the off-season recruiting. The result of all that hard work watching countless hours of tape and live games is 19 new players on the 2008-09 Lady Bulldogs. This recruiting class comes in on the heels of a class that won 76 games in two years and finished third in the NJCAA in 2007.
“This reminds me of the 2006-07 squad, which was also made up almost entirely of freshmen,” Long said. “These players may not be as individually talented as that group, but they’re all are fierce competitors. They all play on traveling teams and tournament teams throughout the summer, so that should sharpen them up for when they get here to play.”
One of the four sophomores that Long is hoping will retain her 2008 form is pitcher Susanna Teague. Last year the Long Beach native won 16 games for the Lady Bulldogs before a serious shoulder injury ended her season. He’s also thinking an expected drop-off in wins this season by outsiders will fuel this team with plenty of motivation.
“No one thinks we’ll be any good,” he said. “The challenge is there for this group to prove all the naysayers wrong.”
Gulf Coast will play four times this fall in tournament at Northeast (Sept. 14), Southern Miss (Sept. 27), Belhaven (Oct. 3), and at home Oct. 11 with a scrimmage against an all-star team.
