Cassie Morales and Chanel Roehner are eager for Spring Break to begin.

An exotic trip to a beach?

Nope.

A plush ski resort?

Try again.

How about just a trip home?

Well, sort of.

Morales and Roehner will spend their Spring Breaks in Northridge, Calif., and Fullerton, Calif. The Orange will play a two-game series against Cal State Northridge and then compete in the Kia Classic at Cal State Fullerton. Both destinations are within driving distance of both their respective homes.

When asked about the homecoming, Morales jumped in place, clapped her hands, and let out a bright smile. The junior outfielder is from Whittier, Calif. The fields that SU will play at are familiar grounds for Morales.

‘Ever since I was younger, I wanted to play in the Kia Classic,’ Morales said. ‘My teams used to go and watch. That’s where I played my whole life. These were girls I grew up playing against.’

Roehner is only a freshman. The Simi Valley, Calif., native has been anticipating the opportunity to play in front of family, friends and former teammates.

‘Playing in front of all those fans is something special,’ Roehner said. ‘I used to go to watch Fullerton play. I went down to San Diego to watch Syracuse last year. Now I get to actually play in it – it’s really incredible.

‘It’s an incentive to play better. It’s a chance to show some of my old teammates that if you practice hard and strive to play, you could be playing at this level. Because this is really amazing.’

It is just the right time for the Orange to show off for Morales’ and Roehner’s fans. Syracuse is surging, winners of its past seven games. It is 8-2, and more ranked opponents lie ahead. In order to continue its hot streak, the Orange needs the Californians to keep clobbering the ball.

Roehner is second on the team in batting average (.370). Her five doubles are tops amongst the Orange. Morales batted .583 in last weekend’s Patriot Classic at George Mason in Fairfax, Va.

‘We’re very confident right now,’ head coach Mary Jo Firnbach said. ‘We’re off to one of the best starts we’ve had. It’s sometimes tough to come back after being indoors because of this weather, but they’re ready.’

Also, Firnbach said that SU will face different style pitchers than it did at the Patriot Classic. She said SU will face more power pitchers this weekend.

When making the schedule, Firnbach said she tries to schedule opponents and locations according to the players on the team. The advantages are three-fold. It gives players a chance to play at home, allows them to play high-profile opponents, and broadens Syracuse’s recruiting base.

‘We have some recruits coming from California, and we draw some good players from the area,’ Firnbach said. ‘It’s more inviting to them because they can think ‘Hey, my family can come and see me play for a day or a week’, if they do decide to play for a high profile team on the East Coast.’

That was the case with Morales. Her father, Casey Morales, said that Cassie’s college decision came down to Syracuse and Cal State Fullerton. While the opportunity to travel across country and live life on her own was the most appealing, the elder Morales also said that Syracuse playing in California helped with the decision.

‘It was a real treat when she was being recruited,’ Casey Morales said. ‘(Coach Firnbach) said that she would try to schedule games out in California. It was nice that she’d be willing to bring them to town. We’re all very excited.’

The elder Morales discussed West Coast softball in relation to the East Coast. When it’s 80 degrees every day, the West Coasters have an advantage, especially early in the season when they’re able to be out on a field. Along with that, though, is a notion that West Coast softball is superior.

That’s a notion that Roehner wants to dispel.

‘I want to show that these East Coast teams are just as good as the West Coast teams,’ Roehner said. ‘Being from where softball is played a lot and played really well, I want to prove to them that East Coast softball shouldn’t be looked down upon. You can’t underestimate anyone – especially Syracuse.’

Published on March 8, 2005 at 12:00 pm