Women’s softball looking to head in right direction, DeFeo looking to lead team towards a successful year

Coming off of an unsuccessful 2012 campaign, the Mercer women’s softball team is looking to make waves this year in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The team, led by junior outfielder McKenzie Woody, is looking to move past year’s past and help head coach James DeFeo have his first winning season at Mercer University.
McKenzie Woody has been turning heads since her arrival at Mercer, but last year she had one of the most impressive years in the Atlantic Sun.
Not only did Woody make the All-Conference team and the NFCA All-Region Second team, but she also broke several Mercer records in her sophomore year. Woody led Mercer in hits in a season, as well as the A-Sun conference.
Woody also led the conference and the team in batting average. Boasting a .430 batting average in the previous season, Woody is surely going to be one of DeFeo’s go-to players in the 2013 season.
Woody is excited for the upcoming season as she feels the team has a lot to offer going into competitive play.
“I’m so excited for this year. Everyone has worked extremely hard to get us where we are now and hopefully we’ll be at the top at the end of the year,” said Woody.
Coach DeFeo spoke of the team’s efforts in spring training. “The team came out and had a pretty good effort, good intensity throughout the practice. I think we started out a little slow with our conditioning. We definitely have to get back in shape, but the defense looked pretty solid.”
“We have a good team of athletes, very versatile athletes, who can play a lot of different positions,” said DeFeo.
DeFeo credited his seniors on the squad pointing out the Sarah Santana and Kelly Redlinger are helping him push the players towards the ultimate goal of winning the conference championship.
The Bears open up the 2013 season with a tournament at home.
“In hosting two tournaments, the Mercer Invitational and the Mercer Bears Classic, we are bringing in some quality teams from all over the country,” DeFeo said.
“We are really excited to open up this season at Sikes Field,” DeFeo said. “Our fans will be happy to know that they will have many opportunities to catch the Bears in action at home this season.”
With several freshman and transfers joining the 2013 edition of the Bears as well as some veteran faces, the team is surely going to give several conference foes a run for their money.
The Bears open up the 2013 season with the Mercer Invitational on Feb. 8. The tournament will continue through Feb. 10 where the Bears will take on IUPUI and Alabama State.