Ursinus Softball has had a strong season while facing challenging schools. The Bears have a record of 21-18 with a conference record of 9-7.
The Bears ended their regular season with six home double headers. They went 3-3 in the last regular season games.
According to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), the Bears have gone the season unraked nationally. They have faced teams ranked in the top 25 nationally.
The Bears played #16 Moravian and #14 Gettysburg. They went 1-1 against Moravian and 0-2 against Gettysburg.
They faced #8 Salisbury on April 26th. The Bears have an eight game losing streak against Salisbury. They lost both games against Salisbury.
However, the Bears are going into the game with a strong mindset, “Our team’s mentality for the end of the season is to not take it so seriously. We are all here for a reason, and we know we wouldn’t be on the roster if we didn’t deserve it. We tell each other before every game to play for the person beside you and find a reason to be out on the field at that moment,” Kayla Carr ‘26 commented.
The Bears commented on their different ways of preparing for a game.
Lucy Wolf, ‘28: “Before games I will usually focus and visualize. I specifically focus on what I can control as a player and teammate and try to keep everything else out of my head. I also will focus on having a good warm-up to go into the game with confidence.”
Sam Mallen, ‘25: “We come together as a team to play with a hacky sack and it gets the vibes us and relaxes us to go out and play hard while having fun”
Kayla Carr, ’26 said: “Before every game, I do my game day hairstyle, and then I braid my teammates’ hair. I am a music lover and need to have my headphones on all day on game days, I listen to all types of music and whatever gets me in a calming headspace to play. I also like to practice meditation during warmups to calm my nerves.”
Although the team has battled through their season, Lucy Wolf, Sam Mallen, and Kayla Carr have had standout performances.
Lucy Wolf is a force on the pitching mound. She has an ERA of 2.27, allowing less than three runs per nine innings. Wolf has had 56 strikeouts in 80 innings played.
Sam Mallen, an outfielder, has been denying hits. With a fielding percentage of .953, Mallen has had 97 putouts and 65 assists so far this season. Putouts are the number of outs a player is responsible for. She also has a batting average of .484 this season.
Kayla Carr has a strong impact on the field and in the batter’s box. In the field, Carr is a catcher with a fielding percentage of .907. She has had 43 putouts and 55 assists in the completion of outs. With a batting average of .404, Carr has had five home runs and 40 RBIs.
With the end of the season and the run at the Centennial Championship coming closer, Mallen and Wolf discussed the team’s postseason mentality.
Wolf commented, “Throughout a lot of the season, we have talked about having a winner’s mindset. Going into the end of the season we have focused a lot on this and knowing that even in tough situations we can find ways to win is important to us. We know we have the chance to finish the season strong and I believe we will continue to work hard the rest of the season.”
Mallen stated that the Bears are “Taking it one pitch at a time a[nd] finishing strong.”