By ALEX AGUEROS

Sports Editor

(digitalBURG) – For most, a Florida vacation is a time to relax on the beach. But the Central Missouri softball team was hard at work in March when they visited Winter Park, Florida, a city 30 minutes west of Orlando, for the PFX Spring Games.

After defeating Rollins – ranked No. 15 at the time – and extending their win streak to 11 games, head coach Susan Anderson said she recognized her team’s potential.

“It was that moment down in Florida,” Anderson said. “We were 7-1 (during the tournament) and we beat a nationally ranked team and I thought ‘We can be pretty darn good.’”

The Jennies have played as such, going 34-8 after splitting a doubleheader with Rollins March 16. And for the first time since 1994, Central Missouri (49-14) is one of eight teams still competing at the NCAA-II Tournament in Oklahoma City.

Anderson brings unique perspective to her analysis of this year’s team. She was on the 1994 roster that finished a program-best fourth at the national tournament. She said the two squads bore similarities.

“We were a pretty solid team,” Anderson said of her 1994 team. “This team reminds me of them. The team speed, we were strong through the lineup, the dynamics of the team – how much fun they have on and off the field.”

When they begin the tournament Thursday night against Adelphi University (30-20), the Jennies will be equipped with players fit for a place next to the 1994 team in the Jennies Hall of Fame.

Senior Jakki Prater is the Jennies’ all-time home runs leader with 40 and second in total hits with 219, three hits behind Beth Savage, who hit .414 for the Jennies in 1994. Lauren Mabe, senior first baseman, is batting .411 and would be the fifth Jennie ever to finish a season above a .400 batting average threshold.

After setting a single-season record with 49 stolen bases this spring, junior shortstop Ali Jo Rogers is the all-time leader in the category. The Jennies broke the team record set in 1995 for stolen bases, and have 123 going into the tournament.

Prater pitched 147 innings with an ERA of 2.62 this season, and her dual-threat in the circle and batter’s box makes a substantial case for the most statistically valuable Jennie of all time. However, senior Katie Shockley has been the ace. She started all four regional postseason games, allowing just three runs combined and no home runs. Shockley’s record of 27-6 is a UCM record for most wins in a season.

Among the names in Central Missouri’s record books, none of them can claim a national title. The Jennies look to put it all together at the four-day NCAA national tournament. Anderson said the team has a simple outlook for the series.

“Keep doing us,” Anderson said. “It’s been a very fun ride and an amazing journey. We’re just trying to embrace the moment. I’m happy and proud of this team. They’re very deserving.”