In the hunt
Becky Brandies and Caitlyn Bliss both enjoy hunting when they aren't playing softball and are hoping the Owls can bag the Sun Belt Conference Championship this season.
Originally published on
2/5/2009
by
Chuck King
Big game has a different meaning to FAU softball players Becky Brandies and Caitlyn Bliss than it does to the rest of their teammates.
More than bats, balls and gloves, big game for Brandies and Bliss can also include antlers, fangs and sometimes even bear claws.
“As soon as Friday practice is over with in the fall, or if we have no practice, I get away,” Bliss said.
Bliss, who will move from third base to first this season, makes the two-hour drive to her home in Lutz, while Brandies lives in Madison, near the Florida-Georgia border. Though the two have never hunted together, they are constantly discussing the tools of their trade.
“When she and I get together it’s nothing but hunting and how big our guns are,” said Brandies, a senior outfielder who hit .261 with two homeruns and 16 RBIs last season.
At the moment, Brandies has bragging rights. Her 10-point buck had two more tips than Bliss’ biggest kill. In addition to deer, they have taken down hogs, turkey, game birds and snakes.
Both learned to shoot from their fathers and have been hunting on their families’ land nearly all their lives.
“I asked my dad when I was five when I could start shooting and he said, when you are old enough to cock that BB gun by yourself, then you can start shooting,” said Bliss, who keeps the antlers from her 8-pointer in her apartment. “So I used to sit on the floor in my cabin with no bullets - because we were inside. I used to hold my gun between my knees and cock it, because you have to cock it five times. As soon as I proved to him that I could do it, he said, alright, I’ll take you out.”
Though the skills needed for hunting don’t necessarily translate to the diamond, the satisfaction can be similar.
“When you hit a homerun and when you shoot a big deer – it’s kind of equivalent,” Brandeis said. “It’s a good feeling. For one second, all four bases are yours. For one day that deer is yours.”
Brandies, Bliss and the rest of the Owls hope to remain in the hunt for the Sun Belt Conference title and an NCAA tournament bid thanks in large part to a deeper pitching staff.
Rose Gressley and Amber Barton combined to pitch 423 of the Owls’ 425.2 innings last season, and it showed late in the season as the Owls dropped their final four games.
“They just ran out of gas,” said FAU coach Joan Joyce, who was a member of her high school rifle team.
Kathryn Stauffer went 5-3 with a 2.21 ERA in 2007 but missed all of last season following ACL surgery. She’ll be the Owls third starter. Freshman Carrie Ann Potter will see some spot starts.
Will that be enough to lead the Owls to their first Sun Belt crown?
“If we hit the ball and keep our pitchers healthy, we can do it,” Joyce said.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC SOFTBALL 2009
Last year: 35-26, 17-7 in Sun Belt Conference (T2nd)
Key losses: LF Lauren Crandall (.302 Avg., 11 3B), 1B Melissa Moore (.278 Avg., 21 RBI)
Poised for breakout: RF Becky Brandies (.261 Avg., 16 RBI)
Fresh face: Joshlyn Martinez, who played with the Domincan Republic national team, will spell Amy Bukovich at shortstop.
Pivotal game: The Owls play many tough opponents, but the series of the year will be on April 14-15, when FAU hosts to SBC rival Louisiana-Lafayette, ranked No. 6 in the nation in the softball pre-season poll.
Key stat: The Owls will face 13 teams that made it to last year’s NCAA tournament.
The final pitch: FAU's pitching ran out of gas last season, but should be deeper than in year's past, After missing the NCAAs the past two seasons, the team is hungry to get back.