Delaware set to make history this week, but can the Blue Hens finally win CAA tourney

Softball is one of the few sports in which the University of Delaware has never enjoyed NCAA Tournament participation.

That could change Saturday.

The Blue Hens are the No. 1 seeds for the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament already underway at Hofstra University on Long Island.

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UD players and coaches are well aware of the historical consequences. But they also understand how difficult the task is, having also been seeded first in last year’s CAA Tournament and winning just once in three games.

The Hens have won just one league tournament ever in softball, that coming way back in 1984 in the East Coast Conference, which didn’t warrant NCAA qualification.

The 2023 Blue Hens are now positioned to pursue a momentous accomplishment led by a hand-picked coach and keyed by, among others, an in-state pitcher who thought her college career was over a year ago.

Rare opportunity

In 21 previous CAA softball seasons, Delaware has reached the tournament final twice, both as the fourth seed, losing to Hofstra in 2004 and James Madison in 2021.

Certainly, JMU’s move to Conference USA this year has opened the door for others. The Dukes won four of the last five CAA tournaments in which they competed, and became the Colonial’s first College World Series qualifier in 2021.

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Delaware goes into the 2023 tourney as the CAA’s No. 1 defensive team, No. 2 in pitching with a 2.67 ERA and No. 3 in batting with a .283 average.

The Blue Hens bounced back from losing two of three in their season-opening league series at Charleston and some mid-season difficulty that “led to some hard conversations,” fifth-year coach Jen Steele said.

The Hens are 17-3 since March 31 and, Steele said, “I give [the players] all the credit because they met the expectations and raised them.”

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Gotta have the players, pitching

Delaware had six players receive postseason CAA recognition, led by third-time All-CAA first teamer Hanna Garber. The leadoff hitter and third baseman from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has scored a school career record 161 runs and is 11 hits shy of that career mark. Garber has a .373 batting average and .544 slugging percentage with 19 of her 59 hits for extra bases.

She was joined on the first team by CAA Pitcher of the Year Emily Winburn, owner of a 2.16 ERA. First baseman Kiara Mills, a .309 hitter, was CAA Defensive Player of the Year and joined on the All-CAA second team by center-fielder Julz Garber, Hanna’s younger sister and a .371 hitter, and pitcher Taylor Wroten. Freshman Katie Scheivert was an All-Rookie pick while batting .317.

Fifth-year starters Hanna Garber and second baseman Brittney Mendoza were recruited by the previous coaching staff and happily inherited by Steele when she arrived.

Unexpected bonus

Sussex Tech High graduate Wroten had played for a Florida-based travel team in high school. The Greenwood resident graduated from Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Florida, last spring with a bachelor’s degree in biology.

In her two healthy softball seasons of 2020 and 2022, she had 1.17 and 1.71 ERAs.

“I kind of accepted my softball journey was over,” she said.

Then Steele called last June, knowing Wroten still had eligibility and the Blue Hens could use pitching help. Wroten hadn’t been recruited by Delaware in high school and had wanted to go to Florida anyway.

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“Life has so many plans that you don’t even know about so here I am,” she said.

Wroten had to adapt, as pitches called strikes in junior-college games are sometimes balls in the tighter NCAA Division I strike zone.

“We didn’t really know what we would get out of her,” Steele said. “Sometimes junior college players struggle to adjust to this level . . . She’s surpassed expectations. She’s done a great job.”

Wroten has a 1.90 ERA and opponents have batted just .188 against her.

“I think I’ve settled in pretty well and I’m really enjoying it,” she said. “It’s a nice way to go out.”

The right coach

Delaware had never finished higher than third place (2003) in the CAA in 17 seasons and had just three winning records in league play when Steele was hired as UD coach in July of 2018. She had just completed her first season as head coach at Marshall in West Virginia after three at Jacksonville in Florida.

In researching possible candidates for the open position after John Seneca’s May dismissal, UD athletic director Chrissi Rawak had learned Steele might just be the ideal leader and contacted her.

“I hadn’t even sent in my resume before I was already on campus,” said Steele.

Steele found the UD position more appealing in terms of location, financial resources, university support and staffing. She made the jump.

The Hens went 19-4 in her second year, the 2020 season cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, and then finished third in the CAA in 2021.

The ‘elephant in the room’

The Blue Hens are quite aware they are chasing history. That brings additional pressure. They were a bit surprised last season when, flexing the No. 1 seed, opponents seemed charged up to face them.

Steele’s response? “Everyone’s gonna play hard because it’s May, this is the championship.”

Delaware (29-18 overall) lost five league games this year. Three teams just behind them – UNCW, Hofstra and Elon – dropped seven each so it all depends on who plays well this weekend.

The coach referred to ending Delaware's NCAA softball drought as the “elephant in the room” that had to be addressed. So her message to the Hens has been to stay in the moment.

“One pitch at a time, one out at a time, don’t look too far ahead,” she said. “Since we’ve had that philosophy, we’ve been rolling . . . We’ll have to do that same thing this weekend.”

Have an idea for a compelling local sports story or is there an issue that needs public scrutiny? Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware Blue Hens seek first NCAA Softball Tournament berth in CAA