JOHNSTOWN – The Lady Raiders softball team has been honing their skills in preparation for their first game, which is just three weeks away. That game will be played indoors, at the Adirondack Sports Complex in Queensbury. SUNY Adirondack will host Fulton-Montgomery in that preseason contest at noon on March 13.

First-year Head Coach Meghan Power has been guiding and building the team. Power was a standout player at Mohawk Valley CC and at SUNY Brockport. She brings a wealth of knowledge and an obvious love of the game to the FM softball program.

The Lady Raiders are polishing their fundamentals and sharpening their batting skills in the Raiders Den. Coach Power and her staff are able to work on nearly all aspects of the game there. They set up fielding situations, and they utilize six different types of batting practice stations. (See photo of the main batting cage at the bottom of this page.)

Nearly all of the squad is participating in the preseason work. However, a couple of FM's softball players are also on the basketball team and cannot fully join the softball program until the basketball postseason ends.

After the Monday practice session, Coach Power was asked what she thought of the team's progress.  She replied, "Overall, things are going well so far, and we just need to continue to stay focused and healthy. The team as a whole is really meshing well together and getting better every day." 

FM competes in the Mountain Valley Conference (MVC). Nine colleges compete in MVC softball: Adirondack, Clinton, Columbia-Greene, Delhi, Fulton-Montgomery, Herkimer, Hudson Valley, Mohawk Valley, and North Country. The Lady Raiders appear to have the talent to enjoy a successful conference campaign.

The regular season is scheduled to begin on March 25 with a doubleheader at Herkimer. FM's first home date is Thursday, April 3, with the Lady Raiders hosting Broome CC in a non-conference doubleheader. The first pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.

The MVC is one of the three conferences in Region 3. In all, 21 colleges are competing in Region 3 softball this year. The Region 3 championship tournament is scheduled for May 10 and 11, and will be hosted by Tompkins Cortland.

                     C.J. Bonny, website writer

Additional photos can be seen in the "Preseason Photo Gallery" available on the softball Multimedia page or by clicking here.

Photo below:  Asst. Coach Kucel (right) and volunteer assistant Moty observe batting practice in the main batting cage

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