I didn't get everything, but hopefully I captured the main points.

They now have the 2019 NCAA Banner on the outfield wall – unfortunate that the fans didn’t get to see it this year.

It’s an awkward time. Tries to get in his 10,000 steps in a day. It’s the first time in 40 years, that on a weekend in the spring, that he has nothing to do. Everybody is going thru it. Just thankful to be in Blacksburg. March has felt like 10 years.

Northern Virginia trip: There were a lot of good things in those two games. We had seen what we needed to work on after the UVA series. There were a couple of kids that made a lot of good adjustments, especially in the GW game. Kelsey Bennett hit a ball on a line – she hadn’t hit a ball like that in a while. I said, “she’s getting ready to explode. “ Kelsey Brown was something like 5 for 8, it seemed like she was on base every time. Liv was starting to swing the bat better, and Grace…that GW game was impressive.

And then against George Mason, we scored 10 in the first inning. I said “we fixed some things.” It was encouraging to see. And then it changed really quick.

We were driving back and there was some scuttlebutt about other conferences suspending games. We actually practiced on Thursday at noon. We had a good practice. We dismissed them for the day and then they went to weights. And then we get the text that the season is cancelled. The girls found out, but not from me. That was bad. That was tough. We found out Thursday, just like everybody else did. Some people got to speak to their teams prior to the information being out. That was the one thing I wish we could have done different, but it was out of my hands.

We met Friday morning and said our goodbyes. It was not an easy time…. You want to say all these things and make them feel better, but I think my players know I just try to be a steady hand for them. If you get all emotional, people see that and you get on a roller coaster of ups and downs. I just try to be steady all the time. Just take it day-by-day.

It was tough, especially how we were playing. We were 21-4 this year without one single home game. I am proud of our girls. They were just road warriors. They took care of business all year on the road. When you get down to it, rankings don’t mean anything, RPI does. We had a long way to go, but halfway through the season, when you’re Top 10 in RPI, that says something. We played all of our games on the road, We went to Clearwater and Had a winning record.

I don’t think the average NCAA sports fan realizes how hard it is. Baseball, softball, it’s 56 games in 3 months. It’s a grind. Not taking anything away from other sports, but we’re traveling by bus, we get home at 3:00am. You have to be mentally tough.

Eight game winning streak: After North Florida, the players bucked up and realized we’re good, but you can’t coast through anything. There was some lineup shuffling going on – not changes – some players get hot and they stay in there, some players go through little slumps and you have to give them a break until they get back up.

Meredith came in and started hitting the crap out of it and played some really good first base. That was a big positive. Jayme moved to right and she kept hitting. A lot of people got hot at the right time. You just can’t overlook what Keely did. She had 3 games in a row against an in-conference team and no runs – almost two no hitters. And the week before, she was almost doing the same thing. She was throwing better on Sunday than she was on Friday. That’s unheard of. It was the combination of the lineup that we had and Keely throwing lights out that contributed to the 8 wins.

Keely’s numbers (15-3 record, 120 innings thrown, 1.52 ERA, 183 strikeouts to 24 walks): That’s crazy. Those are big numbers. I don’t care who you’re playing against – those are big numbers. She was on pace to have a pretty special year. It’s as close to putting a pitcher’s name on the lineup card and just sitting back and watching to any pitcher I’ve ever had. She was something to watch. I feel bad for her, but it doesn’t negate what she did.
After one of the games, an opposing coach came up and said “man, I didn’t know she threw like that – she’s unhittable.” When another coach says that, that is saying something. She works hard and it paid off.

Offense (9 hitters hit over .300 this year, comparison to last year). We had good power numbers again this year. When we played at Jacksonville and North Florida, the wind was blowing in and it was sea level, and the ball didn’t fly. That’s one of the disadvantages of being on the road all the time – you power numbers can get deflated. We had some kids that hit some really good balls that didn’t go anywhere. If they’re playing somewhere else or at home, they’re homeruns. So when you see 31 dingers this year, that’s a lot. In my mind, that’s’ 40 something. The power numbers were where we needed to be.

We added Kelsey Brown – she brought a new element to the team that we didn’t have last year – pure speed. If she puts the ball on the ground, she’s safe. She can also swing the bat. One through 9, we were potent. You couldn’t take any bats off in our lineup. That’s similar to last year.

Speed helps in a lot of different ways. It also puts pressure on the defense. And our outfield can run. Keely gets a lot of fly balls and our players can go and get them. You can’t overlook speed.
Meredith Slaw finished the year at .409 in 44 at bats. The biggest change has been mental. Her mental game is as strong as anybody’s. If she has a bad at bat, she doesn’t care – she comes back and tries to get it done.

Maddie Banks played well all year.

Olivia Lattin: Of all this stuff that’s going on, that is the most impactful for me personally – what happens to Liv. Your heart breaks for her. No one works harder than Olivia. She was snakebit this year. She hit a lot of balls hard. I was confident that things were going to change rapidly. She hit a ball at GW that’s still going and the wind was blowing in. I’ll always look back at the homerun she hit a ball against Fizer/Minnesota that arguably won the game for us. That was big. I really feel bad for her. She’s a winner. She wins at everything she does.

Olivia is one of those players that you hope the rest of the kids see how she prepares and how she carries herself, and how respected she is. I know she’s always going to class, she’s always busting her tail in the weight room. She plays as hard as anybody. She cares about softball. She is the model player of what you want in the program.