The only returning starter in the Crimson's infield is junior second baseman Cherry Fu, one of the team's strongest hitters. She boasts a .347 career average and earned Second Team All-Ivy honors last season.

One of the concerns of the 2000 season was the consequence of injury when there was not a clear back-up player at every position.

"One of our big strengths is that we now have at least two players at each position," Thoke said. "In the past, we've only had one person at a position and then they would get injured and we'd have a hard time filling in the position."

The freshmen have been the main fillers of these roles, jumping into their respective places on the team. As such a large part of the team, the freshmen have little margin for error and few games to adjust to college softball.

"I'm really happy about how the freshmen have been stepping up," McKendry said.

A crucial factor in how the Crimson will fare against the highly ranked teams in the country will be how the runs against them are scored. It is essential that they play with few errors, walks and wild pitches.

"Defensively, we look really sharp," Bloodwell said. "I'm biased, but I think we look really sharp in the outfield."