Stockton Softball Team Goes to Florida to Get Ready for the Season

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey softball team is currently enjoying the warm sunshine of Florida, beginning their 2011 season with 10 games in five days.

The Ospreys will use the time away to get to know each other better after graduating some key players from a 2010 squad that had one of the best seasons in the college's history.

"It bonds us and brings us closer together," said Stockton coach Val Julien, who has been at the helm for 25 years. "It's an opportunity to practice in nice weather and play games against a number of competitive teams."

The Ospreys are coming off a memorable 2010 season, which saw them win a school-record 28 games, and runner-up finishes in the New Jersey Athletic Conference and East Coast Athletic Conference Tournaments.

"We had a tremendously successful season, but we graduated a lot of people—eight or nine starters the last two years,” Julien said. “But we had tremendous success the last two years."

The Ospreys hope to continue their good fortune this year with a mix of veterans and newcomers. Stockton has the bats to compete with most teams on the softball
diamond.

Joey Afflitto, a junior, set a school season record with 39 RBIs and a career record with 16 triples. The shortstop also led the Ospreys with 29 runs on her way to a
conference second-team selection.

Danielle Accardi batted .338 last year and knocked in 21 runs while crossing the plate 20 times.

"The strength of our team is our hitting," Julien said. "We definitely have the power."

Graduation and injuries have taken a toll on the Stockton pitching staff, but senior Brittany Giacomelli and sophomore Heather Corica return for the Ospreys.

Giacomelli and Corica will have to pick up the innings lost by Jamie Gasko, who is injured. Giacomelli won six games last season and had a team-best 1.63 ERA.

With the power in the middle of the lineup, and a young, but talented staff the Ospreys still feel like they will be in the hunt this season, even though it will be difficult to match last year's success.

"We are a serious hitting team and get run production from a lot of players on the team," Julien said. "We also know that we have freshmen to step it up and get things done for us. We are hoping to get back into the NJAC playoffs and hopefully get to regional play of the NCAA. We still have a number of very strong veterans."