CLOTHING SALE

Helps fund Myrtle Beach trip!
Wolverine softball sweatshirts, sweats,
headband/ ear warmers, more on sale!

Better plan to bundle up.
 

TEAM FUND RAISERS HELP DEFRAY 
COSTS OF MYRTLE BEACH TRIP
Wesley Wolverines playing earlier this year 
in the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic 2014, 
Myrtle Beach, SC.

Last winter dropped snow on the Wesley campus from early December to late March (softball's first game was in February!) Forecasters hint we may see more, if not as much, of the same this year, though the trusty Framers Almanac is less optimistic.

FIRST FUND RAISER

Regardless, the first Wesley Wolverines fund raising effort has cold weather clothing to keep you warm in style, while proudly displaying – and letting all know you are associated with – Wesley Wolverines “softball”!

The Wolverine players are hawking several items now – hooded sweatshirts, sweats, headband/ ear warmers, a columbia hat plus t-shirts and running shorts. 

Money raised will go to the softball program, especially toward the team's late winter/ early spring trip to the warm sands of Myrtle Beach!

SOFTBALL DESIGN

You can always buy plenty of Wesley gear at the Wesley bookstore, though it's hard, if impossible, to find the “softball” brand on any of it.

So CLICK HERE to download the official order form, but you can only place your order through an actual Wesley Wolverine softball player.

Wesley Wolverines yukking it up on Myrtle Beach, SC, 
sands last season, while back home it was COLD 
outside! The team went on to win 7 of 10 
games at the beach tournament.

LIMITED TIME OFFER; ENDS
ON MONDAY

Hurry, however, the items are available now through next Monday (October 6) only. No orders will be accepted after that date.

NOTE: If any information differs between what's posted at this blog and the order form, please go by the order form! 

Cash payments preferred, but checks can be made to “Wesley College SOFTBALL”. 

Clothing will be delivered approximately one month later.

HERE'S WHAT'S AVAILABLE NOW...

FALL BALL PREVIEW

EVERYTHING TO KNOW ABOUT 

Fall, Chesapeake venue
One day, two games,
Wye Mills, Maryland

Circle the first Sunday in October on your calendar. It's the first fall ball contest for the Wesley Wolverines and a first glimpse of an exciting future spring 2015 team.  

GAME DAY:  
Sunday, October 5, 2014.

DOUBLEHEADER: Two games; Wesley Wolverines versus Chesapeake College Skipjacks.

FIRST PITCH: 2:00 PM. Played "away" @ Wye Mills, MD 

FIELD: Located on the Chesapeake College campus at 1000 College Drive, Wye Mills, MD. It's just down the road on the Delmarva Peninsula, about 50 miles south-west of the Wesley College campus. 

 PREVIEW: The Chesapeake Skipjacks will take the field in the middle of their fall softball schedule that will exceed 13 games played against D1, D2, and D3 schools. They are projected to deliver a third straight winning season in 2015 and their fifth in the last six years.

The Wesley Wolverines ended the 2014 season with a 17-17 record, which is the team's most victories since the 2005 and the first .500 season since 2001. Having lost just one senior from last year, the still young Wolverine squad is stronger, more experienced this year, while also enjoying greater pitching depth and the addition of an impressive trio of freshmen.

Left-to-right, incoming freshmen P/MI Destiny Davis 
(Salisbury, MD), 3B Tiarra Madox (Greenville, DE) 
and P/OF Lauren Hoffman (Middletown, DE). 
“They're good!” remarked one upperclassman,
while another nodded in full agreement.

EXPERIMENTAL RULES: There are two new, experimental NCAA rules, which may or may not apply, depending on the situation, at these upcoming fall games. 

First is a livelier ball with increased “bounce” and also less impact if striking a player. 

Second is a broadening of the DP/flex rule that can extend up to four players in the lineup.  

Click here for the blog entry about the new rules. (Click here for the full story about new ball. Click here for the specific fall NCAA rule change regarding the DP/flex rule.)

CO-CAPTAINS: Junior #6 MI Breanna Hartman (Red Bank, NJ), junior #22 C/UT Morgan Seymour (Smyrna, DE), junior #32 C/3B Kayla Fromal (Middletown, DE). However, both Morgan and Kayla are ineligible for fall softball because they are two-sport players and currently part of the Wesley field hockey team.

COACHES: Head Coach Juli Greep and Assistant Coach Abby Cohen.

WEATHER: Click here for latest weather report. Average temperatures for Wye Mills in October can fluctuate widely from 44 to 70 degrees.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Few, if any, fans will want accommodations, but, should anyone have a long trip, nearby hotels are in Grasonville or Easton, MD, about 12 miles away. Click here for overnight listings.

WOLVERINE FALL ROSTER

Left-to-right: Brook Creighton, Sarah Saunders, Steph Caracozza, Breanna Hartman

Seniors  
#11 OF Brook Creighton (Rock Hall, MD)

Juniors  
#2 OF/P Sarah Saunders (Wayne, NJ)
#6 MI Breanna Hartman (Red Bank, NJ) 
#8 OF Steph Caracozza (Melbourne Beach, FL)

Left-to-right: Allison Kraky, Samantha Mahoski, Lily Engel, Lindsay Siok

#10 MI Allison Kraky (Scott Township, PA)
#25 1B Samantha Mahoski (Schenectady, NY)

Sophomores  
#9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE)
#12 P/MI Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE)
 

Left-to-right: Nina Marcano, Casey Beall, Whitney Dibb, Devin Mackay

#18 C/3B Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE)
#19 OF Casey Beall (Severn, MD)
#21 C/3B Whitney Dibb (La Mesa, CA)
#42 1B/P Devin Mackay (Bangor, PA)

Left-to-right: Morgan Seymour, Kayla Fromal,
Head Coach Juli Greep, Assistant Coach Abby Cohen

Freshmen  
#1 3B Tiarra Madox (Greenville, DE)
#23 P/MI Destiny Davis (Salisbury, MD)
#99 P/OF Lauren Hoffman (Middletown, DE)


Dual-sports, ineligible for fall softball
Junior #22 C/UT Morgan Seymour (Smyrna, DE)
Junior #32 C/3B Kayla Fromal (Middletown, DE)

Coaches
Head Coach Juli Greep
Assistant Coach Abby Cohen


SEE YA' SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, WITH 
OUR HARD PLAYIN' WESLEY WOLVERINES...

PITCHING CLINIC

Pitching clinics
Fluid dynamics lessons
scheduled for Wolverines 

Nicole Thomas watches sophomore 

Lindsay Siok work on the short 

foot drag of Fluid Dynamics.

There's a new fastpitch softball pitching style for the Wesley Wolverines this season. For those hurlers embracing it, fans should immediately recognize a brand new windup launching softballs from the circle.

Head Coach Juli Greep has tapped pitching specialist Nicole Thomas to spend time with the Wesley pitchers and catchers to introduce the new form.

It's called “fluid dynamics” or more formally “Tincher Maximum Energy Transfer System.”

Nicole Thomas knows all about it. A former college and high school pitching star, Nicole is one of 13 instructors across the country who are licensed to teach this new pitching style.
                                                          

This blog has written about this
revolutionary pitching technique in the past.

CLICK HERE for that previous blog post.

                                      __________

Freshman Lauren Hoffman keeps 
the glove high as prescribe in the 
Fluid Dynamics follow through.

What is Fluid Dynamics?

CAUTION: What follows is a thumbnail description from a totally non-expert bystander who is summarizing some of what was overheard during the pitching instructions to the players.

► First, the glove stays high in the air, then the arm speed is swift and smooth, the leg drag is short, and the stride is long.

► Every movement is fleet and graceful, purposely designed from in-depth research into bio-mechanics to take advantage of female strengths and draw maximum power from the legs to the fingertips. 

Lindsay Siok and Lauren Hoffman consult with 
Nicole Thomas during the Wesley West pitching clinic.

► It's ultra-efficiency in windmill mechanics that's balanced yet mobile, strong and stable, powerful, while reducing risk of injury – all before the ball suddenly explodes and spins toward the batter like never before! 

Clinic participants
 
For the next two weeks Nicole will be spend time holding a series of clinics at Wesley West and DuPont Field, specifically to work with four Wolverine pitchers. They are:

Nicole Thomas observes Lindsay Siok's 
and Lauren Hoffman's pitching form.

■ Sophomore #12 P/MI Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE)...

■ Sophomore #9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE)...

■  freshman #99 P/OF Lauren Hoffman (Middletown, DE)...

■  freshman #23 P/MI Destiny Davis (Salisbury, MD).

Catchers are part of the clinic's game plan, as well. Besides calling pitches, they are, of course, focused like no one else on the field on the pitcher's form and effectiveness – and quick, if not first, to consult with pitchers under the pressures of the game.

Catching for the pitchers at the Fluid Dynamic sessions are ■ sophomore #18 C/3B Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE) and ■ sophomore #21 C/3B Whitney Dibb (La Mesa, CA). A non-catcher, ■  junior #8 OF Steph Caracozza (Melbourne Beach, FL) is also helping out behind the plate.

Nicole Thomas instructing at Wesley West. She is one of 13 instructors 

across the country who are licensed to teach the Fluid Dynamics pitching style.

Two other  Wolverine catchers, softball co-captains ■ junior #22 C/UT Morgan Seymour (Smyrna, DE) and ■ junior #32 C/3B Kayla Fromal (Middletown, DE), are ineligible for fall softball because they are members of Wesley field hockey team whose season runs into November.

__________________________________

Will you be at the Wolverine's
first & only fall doubleheader?

It's less than two weeks away, Sunday Oct. 5! It is away games at  Chesapeake College, Wye Mills, MD – not really that far from the Wesley College campus.

CLICK HERE for the blog post
about these games.

CHEERS ON VOLLEYBALL

At Wentworth Gym
Softball cheers on volleyball,
Wolverines pick up eighth win

In photo below, Wesley Wolverine softball players are caught by a camera at this evening's volleyball game for Faculty Appreciation Night.

Wesley triumphed over the Gwynedd Mercy Griffins, 3-1, in a close match through each set. The Wolverine volleyball team is now 8-3 on the season. CLICK HERE for the official game recap. 
 

Pictured above, left to right, PHOTO INSETS: softball co-captains junior #32 C/3B Kayla Fromal (Middletown, DE) and junior #22 C/UT Morgan Seymour (Smyrna, DE) who were sitting with their field hockey teammates. TOP ROW: sophomore #19 OF Casey Beall (Severn, MD) and sophomore #9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE), BOTTOM ROW: junior #25 1B Samantha Mahoski (Schenectady, NY), sophomore #18 C/3B Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE), sophomore #12 P/MI Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE) and sophomore #21 C/3B Whitney Dibb (La Mesa, CA).

FIELD HOCKEY GAME

Wolverine spirit evident
"Many individual teams,
all one family: Wesley!"

It's been said often, numerous ways, that the team and personal relationships really are the high points that are long remembered after college sports have ended, rather than most games and final scores.

Last night, however, it was all of that – teams, friendships, support, and a big final score, plus a huge dose of college spirit, for a group of Wesley College athletes.

The Wolverine field hockey team took the Richard Stockton Ospreys into overtime to notch a 5-4 win and improve to a 5-1 record on the year.

There was rain with a slight chill in the air. But that hardly sent home members of the Wesley softball and volleyball teams, who were seated together in the stands cheering for their fellow Wolverines on the field in the tough fought victory.

Then, they snapped a photo of themselves and sent it off to Juli Greep, head coach of both the volleyball and softball squads. 

PHOTO SENT BY VOLLEYBALL & SOFTBALL PLAYERS AT FIELD HOCKEY GAME

TOP ROW: Rachel Hausler, Erin Schofield, Codi Ziolkowski,

Kadijah Doughty, Casey Beall, MIDDLE ROW: Tania Rounds,

Beth Schlecker, Steph Caracozza, Tionne Graves-Brown, 

Lily Engel, BOTTOM ROW: Meg Fernandez, Whitney Dibb. 
On the field playing  field hockey were softball co-captains  
Morgan Seymour and Kayla Fromal.

“Both volleyball and softball have been out together supporting other Wesley women's teams, especially field hockey and women's lacrosse,” said Coach Greep, noting also that many softball players have been at the volleyball home games, as well.

“This is the most supportive group of female athletes I've coached since I joined the staff in 2011,” said Coach Greep.

“These groups of young ladies are truly showing what it means to be a family and support one another,” she added. “I think you can see in the early successes of each female fall sports team this year that the support and effort is really helping pay off.”

Coach Greep remembered what senior outfielder #11  Brook Creighton (Rock Hall, MD) told the softball team last year: “we are all individual teams, but we are all one family... Wesley!”

___________________________________________

CLICK HERE to “like” this photo posted at the volleyball Facebook page and/or CLICK HERE for the photo at the softball Facebook page!

MORGAN & FIELD HOCKEY

Team now 4-0
Morgan Seymour scores only goal
of Invitational field hockey match

There are multi-sport Wolverines. 

Softball player junior #22 C/UT Morgan Seymour (Smyrna, DE) is one of them. You also will find Morgan on the Wesley Wolverines field hockey team. 

Morgan Seymour can win games 
with a field hockey stick or a softball bat!

Today, Saturday, September 6, in a tightly fought field hockey match against the Virginia Wesleyan Marlins, Morgan scored the sole goal of the contest. 

The away game was played at the Salisbury University Invitational, Salisbury, MD.

Morgan's shot ensured a 1-0 victory for the Wolverines who remain undefeated on the field hockey season with a 4-0 record. 

CLICK HERE for Morgan's field hockey roster bio.

CLICK HERE for the full story about today's field hockey game.

LILY & SMA

At Nationals' stadium
Wolverine Lily Engel at
“Fight SMA” promotion

Eden, above, is a five-year-old 

diagnosed with SMA.

Wesley Wolverine sophomore #9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE) visited the actual Nationals Park (Washington, DC) standing right on the field turf this afternoon before the Washington Nationals battled their rival Philadelphia Phillies.

Lily with Eden, while Eden's mom 

sports a “Home run for Eden shirt”

It was part of a “Fight SMA” awareness campaign organized by Lily's sister, Nora Hertel, centered around Eden, a five-year-old diagnosed with SMA and good friend of both Nora and Lily. SMA stands for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a neuromuscular disease.

Lily with Eden's family 

on Nationals Park turf.

Lily with Eden's family were supposed to attend the Nationals' and Phillies' batting practice. However, neither team choose to warmup their bats outside with temperatures on the field of 100+ degrees. Eden's eight-year-old brother, Pierce, however, did pick up an autographed ball from Nationals' Bryce Harper!

GEORGE WARES

It's about more than just winning
George Wares says: do not play unless
you intended to be the best you can be

George Wares, Central College (Iowa) softball coach, is the first in Division III to win 1,000 games. He also has led the Central Dutch squad to four national titles. 

George Wares

Coach Wares was recently interviewed by NCAA.org about his "winning" coaching style.

CLICK HERE 

for the full NCAA.org story.

A few quotes from his interview...

►HE CHOSE SOFTBALL: “... those who know me best thought I was going to try to advance in boys basketball. To the surprise of some, if not most, when I knew it was time to choose, I chose softball.”

►TAKES ALL KINDS: “... softball allows you to have all sorts of players – tall, short.”

►COMPETE AGAINST YOURSELF: “For me, you do not play sports unless you have a full intention of being the best you can be.”

►IT'S ABOUT PERSONAL GROWTH: “If we were coaching and playing just to win games, that wouldn’t make any sense. The importance of sports in society is way out of whack. You can find lots of teaching moments.”

►VALUABLE EXPERIENCE FOR FUTURE: “We feel like the best classroom you’re going to have is the experience in softball. Whether we win the national championship or don’t even make it to the postseason, we think softball is going to be a very valuable experience no matter what endeavor you go into.”

►THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES: “... the 1,000th game doesn’t mean as much as all the memories and the people who were part of those 1,000.”