It takes nine players to fill the positions of a softball field.
The UNM softball team started the school year with five.
A team typically has three or four full-time pitchers; the Lobos had none.
A Division-I program carries anywhere from 17 to 20 players on its roster; UNM entered the 2009 season with 13.
After a preseason laced with players quitting and coaches making cuts, the Lobos couldn't fill a line-up card. Last week, the team went 3-2 in the Lobo Invitational and is averaging more than six runs a game.
But the road to recovery hasn't been easy.
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Bad pitches
After finishing a disappointing 2008 season 25-26, third-year head coach Ty Singleton said he wanted to cleanse the program of a losing mentality. To do that, some players needed to leave, and some players needed to be forced to leave.
"We worked for two years to change the culture from within to a winning mentality," he said. "The program I came into is a program that had lost for a number of years. We needed to change that, and that was open to anyone who was with us to change that mentality. The five that did are the five that are still here."
After some players graduated, quit or were cut, four upperclassmen and one sophomore remained. Singleton said those five were chosen to stay because of their work ethic, winning mentality and willingness to train at an elite level. But with only five players and not a single pitcher, there was a lot of work to be done.
Singleton signed eight players, some as late as the summer, to fill out the team. The coaches had to find players who had a high skill level as well as the commitment and mentality for which Singleton was striving. Filling the roster to 20 didn't coincide with that.
"I would rather work with 13 very dedicated players than a handful more who aren't," he said. "I felt like we'd just be putting a Band-Aid on a problem and not fixing it. I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I knew we were going to have to find ways to be successful that are unconventional."
That meant unconventional planning, too. Singleton required his team members to give up most of their winter break to start practice several weeks earlier than in prior years. Without the interference of school, the unacquainted players could practice longer and take more time to bond.
Senior Samantha Hughes said the extra bonding time was key to forming the team's foundation.
"It was difficult at first - a lot of new girls trying to get to know old girls, but we just kept hanging out, and eventually, we came together," Hughes said. "With just practicing and not going to school, there isn't much else to do besides hang out. Now I feel a closeness that I hadn't felt with any teammates before."
The pitching circle
With true freshman Danielle Castro as the only pitcher on the team, Singleton knew he couldn't let the season rest on her arm alone. So he asked the team if anyone else would take on the challenge.
After not pitching since she was 12 years old, three-year third baseman Analise Rubalcava stepped onto the mound.
"Since I was a senior and a role needed to be filled, I felt as though I could do it," Rubalcava said. "We had a lot of adversity through the year, and you kind of take what you got. I wasn't even like, 'Oh, crap, this is going to be a challenge.' I knew it was going to be fun."
Outfielder Kerry Hodgins also volunteered and is spending time in the circle. Singleton is making sure to keep the pressure off his inexperienced pitching corps by putting it on his defense.
Instead of a duel between the batter and the pitcher, Singleton is changing his team's approach to a duel between the batter and the whole field. Hughes said the approach puts more responsibility to be involved on the defense.
"When a pitcher thinks they just got a hit on them, and she turns around to see a teammate dive and catch it, it brings us together," she said. "Everyone has to hold their own weight; everyone takes responsibility for their weight and fulfilling their role."
In just 13 games, the Lobos have nearly matched the number of double plays they turned all last season. And on top of their defense, their offense is thriving. The team is putting up six runs a game - an average that typically leads the country at the end of each season.
"We're a very strong offensive team, and when we put six runs on the board, it's easy for me to pitch knowing in the next inning, we're going to get more runs," Rubalcava said.
The next inning
With a schedule considered one of the top-20 toughest in the nation, the Lobos have started at 6-8, and four of the losses were within two runs. Singleton said the team is growing daily and weekly and that there's no telling what it will produce throughout the rest of the season.
"There were a few more games we should have won, but I'd be surprised if we started off on a tear," he said. "I think we'll go on a tear later in the season. I would never sell our drive short that we can't do some great things."
Rubalcava said most people outside the team aren't expecting the Lobos to produce because of their struggles prior to the season. But she sees the things the team has gone through as reason to expect more from it.
"We've grown so much as a team," she said. "There are no more excuses; there are no more bad things that can come out of this season. We have choices to make with the circumstances we've had. The only choice we have is to win and do as well as we can.
"This is our year. What an awesome opportunity we have when all odds are against us."
Softball vs. Iowa State
Saturday, 1 p.m.
