Softball ready to defend OCCAC crown

The Hocking College softball team heads to the Sunshine State to start the 2024 season as the Hawks are slated to play 10 games this coming week in the Space Coast Spring Games in Vierra, FL. The Hawks play two games on Sunday, starting with Macomb Community College at 6:15pm ET, followed by a contest against Bismarck State College at 8:00pm.

Hocking welcomes back nine players from last year's fantastic 2023 season that saw the Hawks win the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference regular season championship and advance to the semifinals of the Great Lakes Region Tournament. The Hawks went 28-10, including a 19-3 mark in the OCCAC in only the second year of the softball program.

Heading the list of returnees for Hocking are RHP/IF Kristen Stromack and IF Alessandra Mavilla, who earned first team All-OCCAC honors last season. Stromack posted a stellar 2.56 ERA with 50 strikeouts, while hitting .522. Mavilla hit .432 with six home runs and 30 RBI, and had a slugging percentage of .729. Second team All-OCCAC catcher Carissa Wheeler and RHP Lexie Wilkes also return for the Hawks. Wheeler batted .372 with 27 RBI, while Wilkes was 8-2 with a 4.28 ERA and pitched 83 innings.

The Hawks will be led in the dugout by first-year Head Coach Rick Walker, who was hired in late January. Walker comes to Hocking after spending the last year at Division III Lyon College in Arkansas. Prior to his stint at Lyon, Walker built a strong program from 2016-22 at Miami University-Hamilton, where he led the Harriers to an ORCC Tournament title, and a 7th place finish at the USCAA World Series in 2022.