{"id":5053,"date":"2015-02-05T18:36:14","date_gmt":"2015-02-05T18:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/?p=5053"},"modified":"2015-02-05T18:36:14","modified_gmt":"2015-02-05T18:36:14","slug":"two-time-division-champs-start-off-the-season-in-alabama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/2015\/02\/05\/two-time-division-champs-start-off-the-season-in-alabama\/","title":{"rendered":"Two time division champs start off the season in Alabama"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Jenna Siddiqui
\n<\/strong>MC 301 Practicum\/Staff\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Jackson State University softball team has won the SWAC Eastern Division for the past two years and is ready to take home the 2015 SWAC Championship title.<\/p>\n

The girls went undefeated in their fall season in October with a 6-0 record, playing regional junior colleges.\u00a0 They have been training since January, giving them a month to prepare before their first game in Gulf Shore, Ala., at the Sand Dollar Classic Feb. 5 – 7.<\/p>\n

Their training includes practice on the field, weights three days a week and conditioning which mainly took place in the fall.<\/p>\n

Not only did they win the division two years in a row, but they were 16-1 last year in conference, and their combined record from the last four years is an impressive 55-11.<\/p>\n

Head Coach Rick Fremin said, \u201cThe SWAC Conference is much stronger this year.\u00a0 There are some new coaches which will make the conference stronger.\u00a0 Also all of the teams from last year consist of pretty much the same girls who are coming back this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

This also applies to JSU as well.\u00a0 The team only lost two seniors and has only two seniors this year as well: Amy Lara, who is from Rio Linda, Calif., plays third base; and Kelsey Townsend, who is from San Diego, Calif., plays pitcher.<\/p>\n

Fremin also thinks that his team will set themselves apart from other teams in the SWAC with their speed and athleticism.<\/p>\n

Although there are only two injured players as of now, it definitely has an impact on the team.<\/p>\n

Lyndsey Colvin, a junior from Tuscan, Ariz., is unable to fulfill her role as a starter in the outfield due to a hand injury.<\/p>\n

Canessa Swanson, a junior biology\/pre-med major from Houston, Texas, is a starter in the infield and a limited key player due to her recovering shoulder injury.\u00a0 According to Fremin, she will play a limited roll offensively early in the season as a designated player.<\/p>\n

Swanson said, \u201cI think this year is a big year for me personally because with me being out the whole fall season, I had to learn to mentally overcome my own short comings and doubts about my skills.\u00a0 But throughout this six month recovery, I have had the chance to understand my teammates and attain a higher softball IQ, which I think will push farther than I\u2019ve ever been with my sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swanson thinks that the team has a lot of talent both from returners and newcomers, which definitely showed in their undefeated fall season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year\u2019s chemistry is a lot better than it has been in the past and we expect to achieve great heights,\u201d said Swanson.<\/p>\n

The JSU softball team has their first home game against LA Tech on Feb. 11 at 5 pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jenna Siddiqui MC 301 Practicum\/Staff\u00a0 The Jackson State University softball team has won the SWAC Eastern Division for the past two years and is ready to take home the 2015 SWAC Championship title. The girls went undefeated in their fall season in October with a 6-0 record, playing regional junior colleges.\u00a0 They have been training […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5053","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5053\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}