Mowry slugging for Baptist Bible

BY KEVIN WOODRUFF

Elk Lake graduate Karin Mowry is in her second year playing for the Baptist Bible College softball team and is off to a great start.

Mowry, 19, a sophomore from South Auburn, returned from a trip to Myrtle Beach, Va., with the Defenders, where they went 5-3 on a spring training road trip.

This year, Mowry is playing catcher and third base for the team and bats second in the lineup.

After playing basketball in her first year at Baptist Bible, Mowry decided to focus on softball primarily, leaving her winter season free to prepare for taking to the diamond.

In the fall however, Mowry said she played goalie for the Defender soccer team, and had a great time.

“I’ve decided to really focus on softball,” Mowry said. “But I did miss basketball this winter.”

So far, Mowry said the team is on track for a great season.

“We’ve got some new girls out for the team this year,” Mowry said. “And while they are young and lack some experience, they’re picking things up really quickly.”

Mowry said the Defenders have great team chemistry and are working well together.

“I think team chemistry helps a lot in our team’s play,” Mowry said.

And the Defenders will hopefully use that chemistry to their advantage as they make a push for the playoffs in NCAA Division III’s Colonial States Athletic Conference.

“We’re hoping to make it back to the playoffs this year, and hopefully get to the championship,” Mowry said. “We ended up seeded sixth last year, so we’re setting the bar high for this season.”

On a personal level, Mowry said she is looking to get her power hitting to a higher level.

“I’ve always been good at producing ground balls and base hits, but never too much power hitting,” Mowry said. “So I’ve been working with my coach to get the ball off the ground, and hopefully knock a few over the fence this season.”

The Defenders finished up pre-season training indoors prior to leaving for the spring training road trip, and it was a welcome relief for Mowry and her teammates.

“We had 6 a.m. practices before class every day,” Mowry said. “It was pretty tough. You get drained from going early every day. But now, we’re after class, and that’s been more manageable.”

And Mowry said that she’s doing well balancing her workload as a general studies major who plans to switch to sports administration.

“It’s been nice, I have some classes with my roommate, so we’ve been able to do group projects together,” Mowry said.

As far as what Mowry would consider a good season for the Defenders, she said it would be a winning season.

“A good goal for us would be to have a winning season, and make it further in our conference,” Mowry said. “Show people that we can do it. It was surprising for people last year how far we made it because we’re such a small school.

“I want us to show teams that we know we can do it.”

There are also several other local graduates competing on the softball diamond at the collegiate level.

Former Lackawanna Trail slugger Emily Eremo, a 2007 grad, is playing alongside Antoine on the Lackawanna College team.

Blue Ridge graduate Jocelyn Dearborn is in her fourth year playing for Fordham University while Raider alum Dana Keene is beginning her sophomore season on the Cornell University softball team with her sister Erin, who is a junior.