After coming off back-to-back trips to the NCAA Super Regional, the Rowan University Softball team started last season with a 5-2-1 record and was starting to build momentum.

This was until their season came to a halt, as students were sent home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the team is back and excited to step up to the plate once again as their 2021 season hopes to get underway.

Currently, the team practices five to six days a week at Total Turf Experience in Pitman at either 12 or 3:30 in the afternoon. They also participate in team lift, which occurs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 a.m.

Although still uncertain after the cancellation of Rowan fall and winter sports, the girls are in good spirits and operating under the terms that their season will commence. One of the key players who expressed this feeling is senior pitcher Emily August.

“We’ve all been excited to get back into the swing of things,” she said. August has also expressed how she learned a lot and progressed under the coaching staff this semester.

The coaching staff is an experienced one that lacks no resume, led by head coach Kim Wilson who will be returning for her 25th straight season and is loaded with credentials like seven New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) championships and 17 NCAA Tournament appearances. Wilson also has one of the best coaching records in D-3 softball, with a record of 774-266-2 at Rowan and an overall record of 838-323-2.

Assistant coach Nate Parsley is also returning this season for his 10th total season at Rowan. Parsley serves as a pitching coach for the team.

When the season begins, it is uncertain if the team will play out of conference to start and work their way into games in the NJAC, like they would during a normal season, or if they will just start with NJAC games due to COVID-19 regulations.

The team is gelling and the morale is good as all players from freshman to seniors are settling into their roles and soaking up as much information as they can. The season is set to begin in March, but the team can’t wait to make a grand slam in the NJAC as soon as possible.

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