This is the second in a series of weekly question and answer sessions with members of the аIJʿª½±½á¹û Softball team conducted by team play-by-play announcer Ted Rossman. Each week a different Raider will be in the spotlight, beginning with the team’s upperclassmen.'xml:namespace prefix = o ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office' />
Junior outfielder Dorothy Donaldson (Lakeland, Fla.) has made quite an impact on аIJʿª½±½á¹û softball, earning first team all-Patriot League honors each of the past two seasons. Her .377 career batting average ranks third in school history, while her 21 home runs place her tied for second in the аIJʿª½±½á¹û annals. Last season as the team’s clean-up batter, Dorothy hit .390 along with nine home runs and 33 runs batted in. A true leader on and off the field, Dorothy is entering her second year as a team captain.
Ted Rossman: When did you decide to focus on softball’
Dorothy Donaldson: The end of my junior year of high school. I played basketball my sophomore and junior years, and my coach really wanted me to quit softball. He kept saying that I could play basketball at a Division II school. But I finally had to say, ‘Coach, I really like basketball, but my first love has always been softball.’
TR: What made you decide to come to аIJʿª½±½á¹û’
DD: Coach Sax really wanted me to come, and really impressed me with her attitude and with the ways she was telling me I could help the program. Academics are really important to me; there aren’t too many other places in the country like this. That was really important to my family and I, so I decided pretty early on that I wanted to go to аIJʿª½±½á¹û.
TR: As a Florida native, how have you handled Central New York winters so far’
DD: Well, so far I’ve gotten sick every fall, because it’s so nice in Florida, and it’s quite a shock to come up here at first. It’s pretty tough, because it’s cold up here. You just have to put some more clothes on and trudge through the snow.
TR: Can you talk a little bit about each of the coaches and what they mean to the team’
DD: Coach Sax is a very important part of the team. If it weren’t for her, I don’t think I would be at аIJʿª½±½á¹û. Her family, her brother, they’ve been so supportive of аIJʿª½±½á¹û softball. Coach C [Jim Ciccone] is great. He knows so much about softball. I feel like I speak to him more and more every year. If I’m having trouble with something, I know that he can help to make me a better player. And Carolee [Morse], she’s the one we’re all the most comfortable with. We can joke around with her, and if we’re having a problem, I think she’s the first one we all go to. She also coaches the outfielders, so she’s been a huge help to me.
TR: How did it feel to be elected as a team captain in only your sophomore year’
DD: It was quite an honor, a sign that everyone really respected me, and knew that I really believed in them and in the team. One of the most important parts of being a captain is being an intermediary between the players and the coaching staff, so that’s something I’ve enjoyed.
TR: Nichole Rawson, in her first year since transferring from Marist, has been named a team captain along with yourself and Rachel Smith. How has she fit in with team chemistry so far’
DD: We haven’t missed a beat. She’s really helped team chemistry a lot. The fact that she’s been elected a captain, that shows how much we all look up to her.
TR: Your team has become one of the most dominant teams in the Patriot League and in the entire northeast region. Does that affect your game preparation at all’
DD: Well, we definitely don’t go into games thinking that we’re going to kill teams. We really have to stay focused, because even if we lose that for a minute, then, boom, it’s a tie game. So we have to think inning by inning, and never think the game’s in the bag, because teams at this level, they’re scrappy.
TR: Last spring you were selected to represent аIJʿª½±½á¹û at the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference. What was that experience like’
DD: It was a great experience. I’d never been to a gathering like that [over 300 student athletes from across the country attended]. It really opened my eyes to a lot of things. The main thing was that we all have troubles and needs, not just at аIJʿª½±½á¹û, but everywhere. So it gave me a new sense of communication and helped me with what to improve and how other student athletes feel about various issues.
TR: This past fall, you took part in a semester-long study group in San Francisco jointly sponsored by аIJʿª½±½á¹û’s Departments of Sociology, Anthropology, and Asian Studies. What were your impressions of the city’
DD: It’s a great, great city. I’d recommend to anyone that they should go there. It’s just so diverse and laid back, real lively, great people, too. They all have a real respect for each other. It makes being there calm and without too many worries. I was really glad I had the opportunity to go.