With three capable starters at this point in time, the Syracuse softball team can’t help but feel good about its chances this weekend.

‘Right now Jenna Caira, Brittany Gardner and Stacy Kuwik are throwing really well,’ SU head coach Leigh Ross said. ‘I can’t put a 1-2-3 on them, but we will probably give them starts this weekend.’

Syracuse will look to utilize its depth in the circle when it kicks off the 2010 season at the Louisiana Lafayette Mardi Gras tournament this weekend.

The Orange left Thursday for Louisiana, where in addition to the Ragin’ Cajuns, they will take on Bradley and Bryant. Preseason tournaments are nothing new for the Orange. But this year, Ross has taken a slightly different approach by scheduling games against some of the toughest teams in the country.

‘It helps immensely, playing tough competition right off the bat,’ junior Hallie Gibbs said. ‘We are playing some highly ranked teams, and compared to the Big East that is a big difference. It can only help us, it can’t hurt us.’

The Mardi Gras tournament is a perfect example. While Bryant is a second-year Division I program, Bradley and Louisiana Lafayette both made last year’s NCAA tournament. Lafayette maintained a national ranking throughout the entire season.

Caira and Gardner combined to win 24 of the team’s 30 total victories last season and registered nearly 300 strikeouts. Caira led the team in wins last season and was named to the third team All-Big East. The sophomore also won the Big East Rookie of the Year award.

Ross is particularly excited about the addition of freshman pitcher Stacy Kuwik. The hurler was named to the New York Class AA All-State first team after going 22-3 on the mound with seven no-hitters and a perfect game.

The Orange’s toughest opponent this weekend will undoubtedly be Louisiana Lafayette. After a 45-13 season a year ago where they won two games in the NCAA tournament, the Ragin’ Cajuns earned a No. 23 preseason ranking coming into 2010.

Not surprisingly, they too are led by a standout pitcher: junior Ashley Brignac. As a freshman, Brignac won the Sun Belt Conference pitcher of the year award in 2008, along with earning All-Sun Belt Conference honors. She led the team in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts that season.

‘She throws very hard,’ Ross said. ‘A 68 mph rise ball. I think that’s going to be tough for our girls to see the first weekend.’

In 2009, Brignac missed several games due to injury but put up impressive numbers nonetheless, including a streak of 59.1 consecutive innings in which she did not allow a run. She posted six shutouts last season and a conference-best earned run average of 0.44.

In preparation for Brignac, the Orange has used the talents of new assistant coach Angela Tincher. Tincher, a professional pitcher who had a decorated college career, has been simulating Brignac this week in practice. Ross has her throwing with the same speed and same style that the girls will face this weekend.

Playing five games in three days will give the girls the opportunity to assess where they stand early on. These opening games are not so much about wins and losses, but more about getting used to playing with each other on the field and establishing their style of softball, according to Ross.

‘I think when we are going through these games it’s more about what we can do right and not so much about what they can do,’ Gardner said. ‘It prepares us for Big East because you go through those games that are mentally straining and physically straining, and I think that will carry over to the conference games.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on February 11, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13