Albion College’s softball team opened their 2026 home season with a doubleheader against John Carroll University on Saturday, winning the first game 2-1 and losing the second with a final score of 8-7.
The team has played two more doubleheaders since, falling to Heidelberg University in both games on Sunday and losing to Bluffton University twice yesterday. Despite the losses, assistant coach Ciara Wilson-Santos said the season is “going really well.”
“We keep progressing from the fall and through the winter,” Wilson-Santos said. “Seeing the work we put in through those two offseasons is really exciting.”
The Britons began their season with a spring training trip to Myrtle Beach, which they finished with an overall record of 8-4. Holland, Ohio, junior Kiersten Wilkin said the team “played way better competition” this year during the trip.
“We didn’t win as many (games) as last year, but I think we had more quality reps,” Wilkin said. “And the freshmen really showed out.”
Canton first-year Ryley Frank said she was “really proud” of the team and how they played.
“There were a lot of freshmen in the starting lineup, which I know doesn’t always happen,” Frank said. “So I think that for it being our first time working together as a team, we did really well.”
This year, Wilkin said the team dynamic is “really good.”
“It feels like every time I go out onto the field, they’re my best friends,” Wilkin said. “It can’t get more fun than playing with your best friends.”
Wilkin said the spring training trip was her “favorite part” of the season so far. She added that the trip is “so fun” because “You’re literally spending the whole day in nice weather playing your favorite sport with your favorite people.”
For Frank, her favorite part of the season has been “seeing how close the team has grown,” adding that “we’re not just teammates, we’re genuinely all friends.”
“That’s not something every team gets to say,” Frank said. “Developing those friendships has been a lot of fun.”
The Britons’ next game is scheduled for today at 3 p.m., where they will face Capital University in yet another doubleheader at home. According to Wilson-Santos, one goal the team has this season is to “finish in the top five teams” so they can “make the tournament.”
“We were slated to finish eighth in the season, and they took that personally,” Wilson-Santos said. “So that’s a big goal, to prove everybody wrong this year.”
Frank said the low ranking is an “extra motivator to just go out there and kick butt.”
“We want to prove ourselves,” Frank said. “These teams don’t know what we’re capable of.”
Wilkin said the team “has grown so much from last year” and that they “have a little bit of fire” following their eighth-place ranking.
“Now we know we can work and get better,” Wilkin said. “We already know that our potential is higher than that.”
According to Frank, a personal goal she has going forward is to “leave everything on the field this season.”
“Especially because this is my first year, I’m just going into it trying to ball out,” Frank said.
Wilson-Santos said her goal is “to help the girls grow their softball IQ, which will help the team secure the wins we need.”
Although this is her first season as Albion’s assistant coach, Wilson-Santos said she “hasn’t been out of coaching or playing” since the end of her college softball career.
“A lot of the game has changed, and I want to help (the team) and be the person I needed when I was playing,” Wilson-Santos said. “That’s what I want to bring to the girls here.”
Leave a Reply