The finals dead period has ended, and we're ready to get back to work on this site as well.
The biggest surprise of the spring, so far, is the Aggie softball team. Those of us that keep an eye on these things (your humble newspaper, for instance) expected UCD to be improved. But after a combined 22 wins the previous two seasons, I'm not sure even the most optimistic of us would have predicted this start. With today's win over Portland State, the Aggies have 19 wins in the first 31 tries. Lindsay Tognetti is striking out everyone in sight. The team is slugging .400 and the next home run it hits will tie its total for the last two years combined (25). It's probably the best story of the spring.
But it's more than just the on-field success. In 2003, this program won the Division II national championship. And then it struggled to find its footing at the D-I level. Softball is like baseball, the sort of sport where a team can build a national profile (as much as there are national profiles in softball) while playing in the Big West. It will be extremely interesting to see how this team does in the league play. A good showing over the next two months this year would certainly make it a contender to go on the growing list of teams we expect will challenge for a postseason berth next year, the first while being D-I eligible.
If you were curious, the UCD teams currently on that list are: Men's soccer, football, women's basketball. But we're always looking for new additions.
3 comments:
I also like women's golf, women's water polo, and wrestling next year.
Do they even have postseason golf tournaments?
- eastbayaggie
Women's water polo, that's another team building a solid foundation. But they are already eligible for the postseason because there's only one NCAA Division within the sport. In fact, UC Davis hosted and competed in the championships last May.
About time you Detroit slacker got back on the blog horse.
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