The women’s softball team will begin its first full season since 2019 — when it finished 12-27 overall and 5-16 in the Ivy League — with a match against Drexel University Feb. 25 as part of the five-game Florida International University Invitational in Miami.
Brown came in seventh in the Ivy League preseason poll, but the team’s expectations are far higher according to Head Coach Kate Refsnyder. “We are going to accomplish much more than we are predicted to,” she said.
Pitcher and first baseman Lauren Innerst ’22, who led the Bears’ pitching staff in 2019 with a 3.02 earned run average in 109 innings pitched, agreed with Refsnyder, adding that she believes the Bears could finish in the top three teams of the conference.
Refsnyder also said the team has changed significantly since that 2019 season, which was her first as Brown head coach.
“We are much more dynamic, much more athletic and we just have more depth than we’ve ever had in all my years here,” she said. “I do actually have higher expectations than I’ve ever had.”
Innerst has also seen a change in attitude. “There was a bit of a mentality of ‘I have to be here’ rather than ‘I get to be here,’” she said. “We now have people who really feel like they want to be on the field.”
Team captain and pitcher Grace Ladd ’22 agreed. “I think we’ve gained a lot of perspective and appreciation for the sport (after) having our season taken away,” she said. “That eagerness to get on the field and take advantage of every day is … something that is really special about this team.”
About her own excitement to begin playing, Ladd said, “I feel like a kid on Christmas morning.”
But because of the long period between full seasons, most of the team has no experience playing Ivy League softball, according to Innerst. As a result, she said, the experience of the upperclassmen will be invaluable. “Us relying heavily on the people who’ve been there will be key to doing well.”
On the field, the team will benefit from its depth, Refsnyder said. “I couldn’t even tell you our starting lineup right now — there’s so much competition,” she said.
The team will also have speed on the field, Refsnyder said, particularly identifying utilityman Nicole Kim ’23, outfielder Leah Carey ’25 and utilityman Layla Lynch ’24 as players to watch out for. “They are going to cause trouble on the bases for our opponents.”
For power, the Bears expect to turn to catcher and third baseman Laurel Moodey ’25, catcher and utilityman Julia Gubner ’23 and infielder Katie O’Leary GS, according to Refsnyder, who emphasized that a lot of other hitters have power potential as well.
“I think our offense has always been a little bit behind,” Innerst said. “That’s going to be really key to our success.”
On the pitching side, Refsnyder praised the depth of the rotation. “We have a six-woman (pitching) staff,” she said. “We’ve only had three or four in the past.”
Additionally, the team has several pitchers who can also hit well, which will allow for easier substitutions, according to Refsnyder.
After its five games in Miami, the team will travel to Houston at the beginning of March for games against Houston Baptist University and Prairie View A&M. It will then return home to host Providence College and finally finish its non-conference slate with a tournament at Towson University outside of Baltimore.
“It’s a really good challenge,” Refsnyder said of the team’s opening schedule. “We’re definitely playing up a level … We should be able to compete with a lot of those teams, and if we do, the Ivy League will feel easier to us.”
The Bears will begin Ivy League play with a three-game series at Princeton on March 19-20.
The program will look to achieve its first winning Ivy League record since 2004 and first winning overall record since 1996.
Refsnyder said the team feels an internal pressure to bring the program success. “We’re recruiting athletes who not just want to get an Ivy League degree but also graduate with a ring,” she said. “Our athletes do want to change this program and show the rest of the league that we’re not the Brown softball that’s always been.”
