These are the words of sophomore ace Nikki Dooley when asked how it feels to play in a league where the first place team does not receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The NCAA committee doesn’t hand out guaranteed passes to conferences with too few teams, and unfortunately, the Liberty League is one of those conferences.

“There are strong teams in our league that get overlooked,” explained Dooley. “I wish that we would have one automatic bid and maybe another discretional one too, but that’s not how it goes.”

In fact, the Red Hawks could argue they’ve been slighted by the selection committee more than most. In the past three seasons, the first three under head coach Erika Lewis, RPI has finished first in the league twice and come in second once, but has no NCAA tournament experience to show for it.

The only way for Rensselaer to make the national competition is by garnering an at-large bid. “[To earn an at-large bid], we probably couldn’t have more than seven losses,” expects Coach Lewis. A daunting task, considering the Red Hawk’s season consists of 34 games.

The fourth year coach, however, feels her squad is up to the task. “Our pitching is fantastic,” boasted Lewis. “The hitting throughout most of the lineup is pretty strong. It’s just a matter of if a couple of the players are going to come around and play to their potential.”

“A couple of the players [who] are going to be playing a little more this year didn’t get a lot of time last year,” Lewis continued, “so they’re going to be looked to to step up and prove they deserve to be in the starting lineup.”

The players Lewis will look to the most are sophomores Abby Eldridge, Katie Mahoney, and Melissa Manzo, who all saw limited time last season.

The trio, as well as freshmen additions Ann Cosgrove, Logan Russell, and Courtney Sweeney, will be filling a void left not only by graduation, but by unexpected departures as well.

“We had three seniors graduate last year,” recalled Lewis. “Laura Feeney, who was my starting leftfielder all three years that I coached her, she’s going to be missed. She hit in the second spot, she was a really good bunter, a good contact hitter.”

Lewis quickly added, “But I’m not as concerned with losing her, because I knew she was leaving, as I am about filling spots of two sophomores and a senior who left the team … for personal reasons.”

One of those disappearing sophomores, Amanda Bolognino, will be particularly missed.

“She left school,” explained Lewis of the star catcher. “She decided she wanted to change majors.”

Bolognino started every game last year, led the Red Hawks in batting average and on-base percentage, and tied for the team lead in hits. She was also named to the Division III All-Northeast Region First Team.

“It’s a tough loss,” lamented Lewis. “She was definitely one of the better players on the team.”

Besides her statistical prowess, Bolognino had also been Dooley’s battery-mate since the two played for Colonie High School.

“I’ve been throwing with Amanda since the summer before our eighth grade year,” recalled Dooley. “I didn’t realize how much of an actual transition it was going to be, and how well me and Amanda were in tune, until it went away.”

Luckily, it seems with sophomore Katherine Valenta taking the reigns behind the plate, things will pick up right where they left off. “She’s going to fill in nicely back there,” believes Lewis. “Katherine’s bat, if you look at the stats from last year, [she and Amanda] are only a couple hundredths of a point difference in batting average.”

In fact, Valenta was in the top five in nine offensive categories last season, compared to Bolognino’s seven. More importantly, the chemistry between Valenta and Dooley has been promising.

“They’ve been working a lot in the preseason on the chemistry and the pitch calling,” divulged Lewis of the tandem. “I’m really glad it is the girl that it is,” said Dooley of Valenta replacing Bolognino. “She is a very enthusiastic, hard-working person.”

Another curveball was thrown the Red Hawks’ way when it was revealed that shortstop Shannon Quinn would require surgery that would sideline her for the entire season.

The loss knocks the already diminutive roster down to 11 players. “Another wrench in the machine,” commented Lewis of Quinn’s surgery needs.

Despite the inevitable logistical snags with pinch hitting and running situations, nobody on the Red Hawks seems to think the 11-man lineup will pose a serious problem.

“I think we’re going to gel a lot more with the smaller roster,” said Lewis. “We may come across a couple of difficulties…but I think everyone knows their roles, and they’re aware of the situation.”

“Actually, I think it helps us in a way,” remarked senior co-captain Liz Vitaliano of her team’s small numbers. She went on to explain, “Being that we are a small team, more people will get playing time, and the more you’re out there in game experience, the better you play and the less nervous you get.”

Even with the small team, expectations are high for this year’s squad. “We’re really gunning for a piece of the conference title or the outright title,” disclosed Lewis. Despite these lofty goals, the coach is careful to keep the right mindset going into the season. “I’m not a big fan of expectation,” she added. “I think that puts an unneeded negative spin on things. I think that if you go into something expecting something, you’re bound to get let down even if you do well. We try not to think about what we expect out of each other and ourselves, we just do what we do.”

Lewis’ players also have some goals in mind this season. Besides an invite to the NCAAs, the team is also focusing on two perennially tough opponents in crosstown rival Union and powerhouse Ithaca.

“I want to sweep that doubleheader [against Union] because we split last year,” Dooley said. “Unfortunately, the game I pitched we lost, so I’m really gunning for them.”

Vitaliano added, “[Besides Union], I’d also like to beat Ithaca because they’ve always been a powerhouse. We split with them last year, and I believe we can definitely tear it open on our home field that day.”

RPI will welcome the Ithaca Bombers to Doris Robison Field on April 2 for a doubleheader, and will travel to Schenectady for a doubleheader against the hated Union Dutchwomen on April 8.