University of Mount Olive head softball coach Mandy Sansbury, left, talks with graduate student Megan Bryant during a game last season. Minus Bryant and two others, Sansbury returns seven starters from last year’s team that won 39 games, but endured a disappointing ending in the 2022 Conference Carolinas tournament. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
“Two and cue” is an adage coaches loathe to hear when their team fails to win a game in a double-elimination tournament of any kind.
When you’re the No. 1 seed, it burns even more.Just ask the University of Mount Olive softball team.
Regular-season co-champs a year ago, the Trojans dropped their first two games in the Conference Carolinas tournament, and aspirations of extending their season disappeared.
Finishing has been the focus this offseason.
“Last year, we did what we needed to do throughout the season [and] finished as the regular-season champs,” said ninth-year UMO head coach Mandy Sansbury. “We went two and out [in the tourney] against teams that we had the opportunity to beat. I think most people expected us to be at the regional tournament.
“We expected to be at the regional tournament and we just didn’t finish like we should have.”
UMO shared the 2022 regular-season crown with King, which won the tournament and advanced to the NCAA Southeast Regional. League coaches have predicted those two teams will co-own the 2023 title.
Sansbury returns 70 percent of her starting lineup that includes four all-conference selections — juniors Kylie Emanuele, Courtlynn Cooney, Carly Curcio and Hannah Killough.
Emanuele became just the program’s second All-American after batting .490 with a school-record 13 home runs. She collected 82 RBI and filed an .898 slugging percentage en route to earning the Conference Carolinas player-of-the-year award.
A staple in the outfield, Cooney hit .442 with 16 extra-base hits. Curcio turned in a .349 average to go along with 57 hits, 37 RBI and nine home runs.
Killough posted a 2.57 earned run average (ERA) inside the pitcher’s circle and received the Conference Carolinas pitcher-of-the-year award. The right-hander threw 20 complete games, filed a 19-10 worksheet and retired 197 opposing batters on strikeouts in 172 innings of work.
That quartet, according to Sansbury, has embraced a leadership role and understands the importance of accountability.
“I think the theme of last year was ‘good is good and enough’ in some ways,” Sansbury said. “I think they kind of sat back and just, you know, were happy with being good. This year, they’re like ‘no, that’s not going to be good enough’ because we saw that happened at the end of last year.
“They realize that at any point in time someone can take it away from you. Nothing’s guaranteed, and now that most of the girls are upperclassmen, they’re really pushing that.”
UMO tied a single-season record for wins (39) and re-wrote the program’s history book in several categories last spring.
But depth on the mound was an issue.
Injuries depleted the staff, which left Killough with a huge burden as the season progressed. Seniors Lauren King and Brianna Taylor are healthy once again and expected to improve on their combined nine wins and 88 strikeouts in nearly 80 innings of action.
Sansbury signed four pitchers during the offseason — JUCO transfers Caroline White and Lark Collins, newcomer Bri Verme from Wayne Christian and North Duplin alum Callie Thornton.
“We should have a stronger pitching staff,” Sansbury said. “We’re a lot deeper and that’s something that I haven’t had since I’ve been here. We’ve had some really good pitchers and I had two all-conference pitchers last year, but we haven’t had the depth.
“I’ve had girls go down [with injuries]. Then you’re having to rely on one or two pitchers and that’s just not realistic to expect that out of people. That was one of our problems last year.”
As always, Sansbury is cautiously optimistic about the season.
She and assistant coach Luke Shamblin expect to put a gritty, blue-collar team on the diamond. An experienced infield should emerge as the team’s strong suit defensively, but the outfield may look a little different due to players adjusting to new roles.
The Trojans launch their 2023 campaign at home Sunday with a doubleheader against in-state foe Winston-Salem State. UMO is 12-15 in season openers since it began Division II play in 1995 with then-head coach Kathy Riley.
First pitch is 1 p.m.
