Since the upcoming weather forecast looks ominous, I thought Friday might be the last chance to watch the team to practice outside before the season starts on February 5th, so I asked Coach Pete if I could stop by and observe and he was kind enough to allow me to do so. Some important disclaimers to note: • This is simply ONE snapshot in time. There have been numerous other practices so what I observed yesterday may or may not fit a pattern • Although yesterday’s format was an intersquad scrimmage, several players had class conflicts and arrived late or did not participate at all. To have enough players in the field, Bre Peck played shortstop for one team and center field for the other. Assistant Coach Huemul Mata pitched at least one inning. • Hitters were added to the batting order as they showed up. • There are no official stats – just my old fashioned manual scorebook. And by the time practice ended, my fingers were numb so I’m sure I missed a few things – especially pitching stats. But here are a few things that I noted: • Emma Mazzarone looked really sharp. She threw 5 shutout innings, allowing only two hits and striking out seven. She batted third in the lineup and went 5 for 7 with 2 singles, 2 doubles, and a monster blast to center field (The Smash Board measured it at 235 feet). I can understand Coach Pete’s excitement when talking about her. • Another player to note is Sophomore Nora Abromavage. Although she had only 16 at bats last season, her name has regularly appeared on The Smash Board this spring and showed why. She went 3 for 6 with a double and two homeruns. She also walked twice. • Gaby Mizelle went 2 for 6 with a monster HR to center (240 feet).She played second base and absolutely robbed Jordan Lynch of a single with a great play of a hard hit ground ball hit up the middle. • Stetson transfer Addison Foster batted leadoff and reached base four times via walk and hit a tape measure blast to centerfield (248 feet). She also robbed Anni Rohs of a home run while patrolling center field. • UMBC transfer Haley Luginbill went 2 for 5 with a long blast over the center field fence (260 feet). She also drew two walks. • Jordan Bishop went 5 for 7 with four singles and a double. • Although she arrived late, Lyla Blackwell reached base in all three of her plate appearances with a single, a double, and a walk, and even stole a base. • As I mentioned, I did not do a good job of noting specific pitching stats. Part of that was due to no uniform numbers and pitching changes that I missed. It seemed everyone had some good moments and some not-so-good moments. And there were 16 runs scored - is that because of the VT offense or the pitching??? In my simple mind, pitching remains the biggest question mark, although I do believe Mazz will be very capable of carrying much of the load. We will start getting answers in less than two weeks. Can't wait. ** Edited by VTChip at 1/24/2026, 4:08:56 PM