Plenty of positives for Salamanca despite 7-2 loss to CLV in season-opener 

By SPENCER BATES

batesoleanstar@gmail.com

SALAMANCA — The Salamanca softball team officially got its season underway against Cattaraugus-Little Valley, and while the result may go down as a loss at the end of the day, coach Paul Furlong is excited about what his team will be capable of this season.

Going back two years, the Warriors softball team finished their campaign winless. Last season, they nabbed four wins. This year, the goal is to simply continue down the path of improvement.

However, Furlong refused to acknowledge win tallies as the one and only true sign of improvement within his team. Instead, he is focussed on what the scoreboard doesn’t show, the small details that he no longer has to emphasize.

“One of the things I said to the girls out there was ‘don’t accept the fact that we just got beat,’” Furlong said. “We played pretty solid today and we want to get away from the 15-0, 20-0 games. Our schedule is a bear this year. So, I don’t know, we might not be better than four or five wins this year. To be perfectly honest, we might not. … (But the wins aren’t the only mark of improvement), it isn’t. It’s about playing good softball.”

And with that in mind, there was plenty that Furlong was satisfied with in his side’s 7-2 loss to the Timberwolves.

For one, he was more than happy with the confidence his players showed at the plate. In all but one inning, the Warriors managed to get on base and it was a full team effort in that department. Seven different batters found their way onto the basepaths as the result of either a hit or an error from the CLV defense. And three different batters — Makenzie Crouse (2-for-4), Skyla Dowdy (2-for-4) and Hadleigh Krug (2-for-3) — connected for multiple hits on the day. 

“I thought our approach was great today,” Furlong said. “I just kind of wanted to keep reminding them … we’re a line drive, stay on pitches, hit the ball hard and see what happens type of team. And overall, I really thought we did that.”

Salamanca’s Charli Ross (16) delivers a pitch to Cattaraugus-Little Valley. Ross recorded two strikeouts against the Timberwolves. (Spencer Bates)

However, this is still some room for improvement for players when they are on the basepaths. On a number of occasions, the Warriors found themselves running into outs, costing them a number of opportunities to score. According to Furlong, the offense is good, it is now just about finding that finishing touch.

“We didn’t look too bad in too many at bats today,” Furlong said. “We had base runners every inning. Credit to (CLV), they had base runners too. But when they had base runners, they scored them. We had base runners, but we couldn’t get them across the plate. It’s just a matter of finding that finishing touch, it really is.”

But on that same leaf, smarter running on the basepaths is an issue Furlong is happy to have considering that problem, in and of itself, is a sign of improvement.

“We’re focusing more on the small things,” Furlong said. “And it’s funny, one of the things I noticed today, I adjusted the center fielder a couple times and the right fielder adjusted. … I mean, that little stuff they’re starting to pick up on, and I don’t have to coach it as much. And base running really hurt us today … but those are the little things that we’ve got to get better at. The issues are little and big. We just got to get better at those situations.”

And away from the offensive side of things, Furlong was pleased with how his side fared defensively, considering the field situation this team has been in.

The Warriors will make the transition from their field at Prospect Elementary School to a brand new turf field on the Salamanca High School campus part-way through this season, and in preparation for that move, and due to some adverse weather making it not possible to practice at Prospect Park, they have only been practicing on the turf field. So, when it came to taking ground balls in the dirt or outfield grass, there was a bit of a real-time learning curve that was needed against CLV, but one that lasted just a few innings — a sign that boosted Furlong’s confidence in where his team can finish this season.

“It was the first time we’ve taken a ground ball on dirt all year,” Furlong said. “We haven’t been able to practice on this field. We’ve been at the other field and that’s a whole different thing. … It was actually better than I thought it was going to look. We caught some fly balls, and that’s a positive for us. Kenzie and (Jaelynne Brown) played a great outfield for us. … I think those two can run the ball down and make plays for us. … We just got to learn from the mistakes, have everybody get that little bit better every day, and we might be scary by the time the season’s over.”

Salamanca will have a big test in its next game, away from home against Olean on April 9 at 5 p.m.

AT SALAMANCA

Catt.-Little Valley       024 001 0    7 8 2

Salamanca       010 001 0    2 10 3

CLV: Madison Rogan (4 SO, 1 BB) and Riley Preston

Sala.: Charli Ross (2 SO, 5 BB) and Nora Santiago