Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
MT adjusting to unique fall softball schedule
10/8/2020 5:00:00 PM | Softball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Any other fall, Middle Tennessee's softball team would be wrapping up its slate of exhibition games, a chance for returners to dial in on little tweaks that need to be made to their game and for newcomers to get up to speed on the faster-paced college game.
This fall looks a little different for the Blue Raiders, whose only competition will be each other. However, all those intrasquad scrimmages may not be such a bad thing right now.
"When you do that, everybody plays all the time, so we end up getting more reps in than we would have," said MT head coach Jeff Breeden. "We're trying to mix the teams up so it doesn't become monotonous, but ultimately, we want to see how they're all going to play with each other."
Breeden and fifth-year senior shortstop Summer Burgess both agree they'd rather play other teams, but they're making the most of this year's circumstances.
"We obviously like to play against other teams to test our abilities as one whole unit instead of against each other," Burgess said. "We always see the same pitchers in practice when we scrimmage, so it's nice to usually see some other competition. We've made it pretty competitive out here this fall, though."
After the 2020 season was halted on March 12 and later canceled on March 16, MT's softball players returned to their hometowns, many of them thousands of miles from Murfreesboro, and began to work out and work on their game on their own.
Burgess, a Delray Beach, Florida native, got back to work on her game immediately after hearing she'd be able to come back and be a Blue Raider for one final season.
"It gave me a lot more motivation because a lot of people didn't get to come back and play," she said. "I worked really hard to be ready to come back and help my team win. They brought me back for a reason, and I just have to do my part."
When his team returned to campus in August, Breeden was pleased with his student-athletes' progress.
"You could tell that they had improved. The time off had been good as far as getting their bodies in shape. [Working out on their own at home] hadn't been such a bad thing for them," he said.
For MT's seven newcomers, the summer away from their new softball field delayed their ability to learn how to play in Breeden's system.
"It's taken a few practices for our freshmen to get comfortable getting where they're going, based on their body language," he said. "We're about to the point now where you can see they're starting to understand it."
Amaya Harris is one of those seven newcomers that made up the best 2020 recruiting class in Conference USA. She's spent the last few weeks learning from fellow middle infielders Lani Rodriguez and Burgess.
"I'm comfortable around them, and I know I can ask them anything if I need to. I know if I need help with something, they're good people to watch and study how they do things," Harris said.
The top high school prospect signed in C-USA last year, Harris said she has already seen an improvement in her game by working with her new coaches and teammates.
"I feel like in the few weeks that I've been here, I've upped my game a lot," she said. "Hitting-wise, fielding-wise, I feel like I've played better than I ever have."
Even though the Blue Raiders are getting more live reps in intrasquad scrimmages, Breeden hasn't been able to utilize some of the activities to build camaraderie as he's done in the past.
"Normally, we'd be doing a lot of team-building activities off campus and off site. We haven't been able to do all that. … That lends itself to our team unity not being where it would've been because of COVID-19, which is unfortunate, because I think that's one of the best things we do," he said.
As they inch closer to the spring and what they hope will be some semblance of normalcy when they take the field against opponents from other schools, another factor comes into play for the Blue Raiders. Most MT student-athletes will go home for Thanksgiving and remain there until it comes time to begin the spring 2021 semester in mid-January.
"It's extremely crucial [for student-athletes to remain disciplined during the break]," Breeden said. "They're going to have to get after it and get into a routine at home so they can come back with the strength that they're leaving with after this semester."
When the Blue Raiders do return in January for the 2021 season, they'll be focused on bringing Conference USA hardware back to Murfreesboro and taking the program to heights never before reached.
This fall looks a little different for the Blue Raiders, whose only competition will be each other. However, all those intrasquad scrimmages may not be such a bad thing right now.
"When you do that, everybody plays all the time, so we end up getting more reps in than we would have," said MT head coach Jeff Breeden. "We're trying to mix the teams up so it doesn't become monotonous, but ultimately, we want to see how they're all going to play with each other."
Breeden and fifth-year senior shortstop Summer Burgess both agree they'd rather play other teams, but they're making the most of this year's circumstances.
"We obviously like to play against other teams to test our abilities as one whole unit instead of against each other," Burgess said. "We always see the same pitchers in practice when we scrimmage, so it's nice to usually see some other competition. We've made it pretty competitive out here this fall, though."
After the 2020 season was halted on March 12 and later canceled on March 16, MT's softball players returned to their hometowns, many of them thousands of miles from Murfreesboro, and began to work out and work on their game on their own.
Burgess, a Delray Beach, Florida native, got back to work on her game immediately after hearing she'd be able to come back and be a Blue Raider for one final season.
"It gave me a lot more motivation because a lot of people didn't get to come back and play," she said. "I worked really hard to be ready to come back and help my team win. They brought me back for a reason, and I just have to do my part."
When his team returned to campus in August, Breeden was pleased with his student-athletes' progress.
"You could tell that they had improved. The time off had been good as far as getting their bodies in shape. [Working out on their own at home] hadn't been such a bad thing for them," he said.
For MT's seven newcomers, the summer away from their new softball field delayed their ability to learn how to play in Breeden's system.
"It's taken a few practices for our freshmen to get comfortable getting where they're going, based on their body language," he said. "We're about to the point now where you can see they're starting to understand it."
Amaya Harris is one of those seven newcomers that made up the best 2020 recruiting class in Conference USA. She's spent the last few weeks learning from fellow middle infielders Lani Rodriguez and Burgess.
"I'm comfortable around them, and I know I can ask them anything if I need to. I know if I need help with something, they're good people to watch and study how they do things," Harris said.
The top high school prospect signed in C-USA last year, Harris said she has already seen an improvement in her game by working with her new coaches and teammates.
"I feel like in the few weeks that I've been here, I've upped my game a lot," she said. "Hitting-wise, fielding-wise, I feel like I've played better than I ever have."
Even though the Blue Raiders are getting more live reps in intrasquad scrimmages, Breeden hasn't been able to utilize some of the activities to build camaraderie as he's done in the past.
"Normally, we'd be doing a lot of team-building activities off campus and off site. We haven't been able to do all that. … That lends itself to our team unity not being where it would've been because of COVID-19, which is unfortunate, because I think that's one of the best things we do," he said.
As they inch closer to the spring and what they hope will be some semblance of normalcy when they take the field against opponents from other schools, another factor comes into play for the Blue Raiders. Most MT student-athletes will go home for Thanksgiving and remain there until it comes time to begin the spring 2021 semester in mid-January.
"It's extremely crucial [for student-athletes to remain disciplined during the break]," Breeden said. "They're going to have to get after it and get into a routine at home so they can come back with the strength that they're leaving with after this semester."
When the Blue Raiders do return in January for the 2021 season, they'll be focused on bringing Conference USA hardware back to Murfreesboro and taking the program to heights never before reached.
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