March 17, 2016
By ANNA PITINGOLO, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Spring has finally sprung in State College, and nothing makes that more obvious than the start of the home slate of Penn State softball's season.
Already almost halfway through their season, the Nittany Lions return home this weekend after four consecutive weeks on the road, which saw them travelling to Florida three times and Mississippi once. They face Hofstra in a three game series, which starts with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
Head coach Amanda Lehotak is just as excited as any player about being back at Beard Field and finally having some home field advantage.
"It's the most amazing feeling, you have no idea," Lehotak said. "Finally being on your own field where you train everyday, to play in front of your fans where Penn State means everything to us is a great feeling and we can't wait."
Her players share a similar sentiment about finally being at home, especially when it comes to the toll that travel can take after extended periods of time.
"We're really excited just to not have to travel those long hours and then being really tired," said senior Macy Jones. "And to play on our home field and what we're comfortable with in our cages and all that, it's going to be really nice."
No travel means that the team will be able to focus more on their preparation leading up to the series. It also means that they will be in the comfort of their own equipment and facilities.
"We have a little more time [to prepare] because we're not spending so much time traveling," said junior pitcher Marlaina Laubach. "It gives us a little more time to be at home, stay comfortable, we can hit in our own cages just like we do on game day. We can practice everything pregame but do it here on our field, so it's exactly like it's going to be on game day."
Playing at home will mean playing in much colder temperatures than the team has seen this season. With expected highs of 43 and 37 degrees on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, there's no counting out the affect that the weather will have on the game.
"It's kind of one of those things where you're either freezing or you're hot and about ready to pass out from the heat, so that's kind of the fun about being an outdoor sport," Lehotak said. "It's just the good thing is, whatever you're playing in so is your opponent. It does change things, sometimes it's hard to grip a bat or the ball type of thing, but we still have to play the game."
For Jones, gearing up for her last season at Beard Field is more exciting than it is sad. One reason is the amount of home games on the schedule this year.
"I'm not really sure if we have more home games than we've had in the past, but I just feel as though we do have a lot more home games," Jones said. "There are a lot of exciting things that we're doing this year so for it to be my last season it's a good thing and it's exciting."
As the home opener gets closer, Lehotak is ready to see the fans at Nittany Lion Softball Park cheering on the team.
"I just think the atmosphere, the energy, playing in front of your fans and your friends, it's very different," Lehotak said. "We had a lot of come from behind wins last year and I put that a lot of because of our fans."