Simpson will try to lock up the Iowa Conference regular season softball title at home on Saturday with a double header against Wartburg. The Storm are 12-2 in the league race and own a half game lead over second place Luther. Simpson has won 21 of its last 23 games and coach Henry Christowski says a big factor has been the improved health of pitcher Whitney Oviatt who battled an illness at the start of the season.
Christowkis says they were moving things around trying to find a combination that would work and Oviatt started getting better. He says it made the rest of the team go out and focus to be competitive. Christowski says his team like all of the top teams in the Iowa Conference always play a demanding non-conference schedule to boost their chances at an NCAA regional bid.
He says that is the idea, play as many of the best teams in your region before conference competition to build the experience and gain some points toward post-season play. Christowski says a very balanced batting order has helped produce more runs. He says you can say the one through nine hitters, there is only one spot that hasn’t performed they way they would like. Christowski says that player is playing good defense, but her hitting hasn’t come around yet.
Christowski says winning the regular season is still a great accomplishment, even though it does not provide an automatic spot in the regionals. He says a regular season title is really just a title right now, because the winner of the tournament gets the automatic bid, but he says winning the regular season helps build points and could help you get an at-large bid.
Simpson is 12-2 while Luther is 11-2 and will play Loras in a double header.