TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

One of the nice things about being on a softball or baseball team in the North is that you get to travel to fair-weather places during February, escaping the snow for a few days. However, your opening trip to Tempe, AZ this year was totally washed out. How disappointing was that?
We were really disappointed. We were really excited to get out and play on the dirt finally and just get out of the gym. It’s really hard compared to the teams that are outside all year round while we’re in the gym for half the year. We were really disappointed but we knew the weekend after we’d hopefully be playing in Houston.

Despite the Arizona games being rained out, you also get to travel to Houston, Kentucky and Florida before opening the northern slate of your schedule. How refreshing is it to leave the cold weather and be able to play outside again?
It’s great just because, like I said, the Western teams are way ahead of us in the beginning of the season. They get to play out there all year round and it’s a really hard adjustment from the gym to the dirt. It’s really refreshing to be outside playing again.

Last year, your team finished 11-10 in the Mid-American Conference, missing the conference playoffs by just two games, coming in seventh overall. While you lost your leading hitter in Breanne Nasti, you have back your top two pitchers in Stacey Evans and Sophie Barstad. What are your team goals this year?
I really think that we’re going to finish at the top in the conference this year, even though we’re said to not finish in the top six. It kind of gives us that little fire to push and to just show other teams that we can do it. That’s our team goal this year, to finish at the top.

The Bulls have struggled to a 3-13 record early in the season against some tough Southern teams, and this week you head off to Daytona Beach for the Bethune-Cookman Tournament, which will prove another tough test. What do you expect out of this weekend?
We’re going to play some really good teams out there. I’m expecting to play well. We played really well against Western Kentucky. If we play like that all our games, I really think we can give the hard teams, the ranked teams, a run for their money.

Coming in as a freshman, you batted .314 and stole a school-record 15 bases. What did you find were the biggest differences between college and high school softball?
It’s a completely different level of play in college. I didn’t expect it to be that way, but it is. The pitching is better. Catchers’ arms are better. The coaches are much more aggressive and that’s why I had more stolen bases probably, because our coach is very aggressive. My high school coach hardly had me steal ever. It’s a faster game in college.

As someone who has 17 career stolen bases, what would you rather do: hit a game-winning home run or steal second and score on a seeing-eye single where there is a play at the plate?
I think I’d rather steal second and score on a single because it’s just a better feeling because you’re right there and the ball’s there. It’s just a much better feeling than hitting a home run because the intensity level is just amazing.

As a senior in high school, you batted .620 and helped Owego Free Academy to a division title. How exciting was it towards the end of the season to know that you were just a few wins away from winning the title?
It was really exciting because through the years, my high school program had gone downhill. To know that we were that close, and being my senior year, it was a great feeling.

Coming from Owego, you were recruited by a host of other New York schools, including Fordham, Albany and Stony Brook. What made UB and coach Marie Curran’s team the right fit for you?
It came down to Fordham and UB and I really liked both teams a lot. I went to Fordham first for my visit and I was pretty much set to go there until I came here and met the team and coaches. I just really liked the campus and the group of girls that I had last year and this year. They’re just amazing. I didn’t want to give that up so I chose here.

How hard is it for you, as a mechanical engineering major, to balance softball with your academics, being able to excel on the field and still have a GPA above 3.0?
It’s really hard. I study non-stop. Right now, I’m going back to do homework. I’m always doing homework. I live with five of my teammates and they always ask me if I still live there because I’m always in the library or with my friends doing homework. Our coach gives us mandatory study hall on the road so that helps a lot, too. It forces me to do work.

What has been your favorite moment as a student-athlete at the University at Buffalo?
I think just getting a chance to play a Division I sport and being on the team that I’m on. The group of girls that I play with are just an amazing group of girls. I really enjoy them. They’re probably my best friends that I have here.

- “The 10 Questions With…” feature is compiled by Joe Guistina