PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball team will be on the field for the first time since March 2020 when they travel to Greenville, South Carolina this weekend (February 11-13) for the Paladin Invitational hosted by Furman University.
The team will be facing off against Tarleton State, North Dakota, Bellarmine and the host Furman. Eastern Shore will play a total of five games against those teams during the three day event.
"This season is exciting because this is a brand new team and this team wants to break records and set a new standard," head coach Karla Powell said. "We have some transfers, but we are a very young team so I'm excited to see how we do."
Maryland Eastern Shore has just three people still with the program that played in the 2020 season. Those student-athletes are junior infielder Tyanna Roberts, senior outfielder Kaylyn Sterling and graduate student pitcher Nasya Goodman. All three players will bring experience and will serve as stable forces for a team that has not played in nearly two years.
With just three people back from 2020, The Shore will have 12 of its 15 players seeing action for the first time in the maroon and gray this weekend. The young players on the team will be asked to jump into the lineup to begin the season.
Two of the youngest new players on the squad will occupy the middle of the infield for the team. Freshmen Nola Mountain (Surrey, British Columbia) and McKenzie Abiley (Sherwood, Oregon) will be playing second base and shortstop respectively as they start the season. Each brings range to their respective spots to enhance the squad's defensive prowess.
The other freshmen on the Hawks are Rebecca Miller (Scottsdale, Arizona) and Kylee Lehman (Huntsville, Texas). Miller will see time behind the plate and at other spots in the infield, while Lehman, who just got to Princess Anne in January after spending the fall at Navarro College, will add to Eastern Shore's pitching staff.
The sophomore class for the Hawks has seven members and all were on campus last school year, but did not see action due to the team opting out of the season. Julia Garcia (Cornwall, New York), Ryan Merriwether (Inglewood, California) and Tatum Kresley (Alburtis, Pennsylvania) are the cornerstones of the class. Garcia and Merriwether will occupy third base and first base respectively, while providing big bats in the middle of the lineup. Kresley will see time inside the circle and potentially in the outfield.
Kelsie Ekstrom (Riverside, California) will see time as a catcher and at other positions in the infield. Ameenah Ballenger (Lansdowne, Pennsylvania) is one of the team's most versatile players as she plays four positions in the field and should still be productive at the plate as well. Taylor Harrison (District Heights, Maryland) also has a strong bat and will play some first base, and Ah-Nayia Oglesby (Tampa, Florida) has great range in the outfield and should hold down centerfield.
The only other junior on the team outside of Roberts is junior Saje Kurpiela (Campbell River, British Columbia). Kurpiela spent her freshman season playing at Three Rivers Community College in Missouri and should see time in the outfield and as a pitcher this season.
"We have really been focusing on executing because we want to win games but I know it's going to take time to see who clicks where," Powell said. "We have been playing against ourselves for so long that I know we are going to miss calls (in the game), but we have to have a good presence after that and remain productive."
On Friday (February 11), the Hawks will take on Tarleton State at 2 p.m. and Furman at 7 p.m. The game versus Furman will be broadcast on ESPN+. On Saturday (February 12), Eastern Shore takes on North Dakota at 2 p.m. and Tarleton State once again at 4:30 p.m. They will conclude the weekend on Super Bowl Sunday (February 13) versus Bellarmine at 11:30 a.m.
