Ashleigh Washington, Charlotte softball ready for AAC debut

CHARLOTTE ATHLETICS

Charlotte infielder Ashleigh Washington is a team leader for a softball program making the transition to the American Athletic Conference.

Ashleigh Washington is a vocal leader for Charlotte 49ers softball.

The senior infielder will likely be in the lineup as designated player for the 49ers this season, and coach Ashley Chastain is glad to have a leader like her on the team.

“[Washington] has been in the program so long now,” Chastain said. “So, I do think she has a powerful perspective. Anytime you have a powerful perspective as a fourth-year or fifth-year player, as their coach, you hope they just pour that into the younger [players].”

Washington didn’t shy away when asked what she felt the team goals were for the season.

“I feel like our first goal is to win the American [Conference] in our first year,” she said. “We are super ready for that. Then the next goal is always to get to a [College] World Series and compete at the highest level.”
Chastain echoed Washington’s sentiment.

“Our expectation this year would be to win the American Conference in our first year competing in the league,” she said. “For us, we put a heavy emphasis on RPI and strength of schedule, which hasn’t changed coming into this year. Then, get a postseason bid. The next step for this program is to get to a Super Regional.”

The 49ers are coming off a season where they won the Conference USA regular season title, going 35-23. They played in the Durham Region of the NCAA tournament before losing to Duke twice – advancing the Blue Devils to the Super Regional.

The 49ers had a ton of talent on last year’s roster led by Bailey Vannoy, now an assistant coach at Lipscomb University in Tennessee. Chastain knows how talented last year’s group was but excited about this season, which started with a win Thursday against No. 4 Florida State.

“I think it's really important to turn the page and not live in the past,” she said. “We've celebrated last year's season and all those players, and they've made their mark on the program that will never get erased.”
The 49ers have experience and youth on this season’s roster, a combination Chastain likes.

“Looking at this team, we’ve got such a core group of veterans that have been around the program and then a lot of youthfulness as well,” she said. “I think there is a lot of innocence when there is so much youth on your team. It is light and fun, in a good way.”

Washington knows how to encourage teammates when they might not be at their best. But, she also knows how to get the best out of them – even if tough love is needed.

“This is a sport where you are going to fail,” she said. “The part that matters the most is how you come back from those failures. Whether you strike out twice or 26 times, how do you come back from that and be better? I struck out close to 50 times last year, but it’s about keeping the right mindset and not crumbling.”

Charlotte enters the season picked to finish in second place in the AAC behind Wichita State, which went 44-12 a season ago. Chastain doesn’t want her team focused on preseason rankings, but their games against the Shockers might inevitably be more intense.

“I think for me, it kind of puts a target on our backs,” Chastain said. “We might have talked about it the day they came out but haven’t focused on them since. I don’t want the girls thinking about it or focused on it. Preseason rankings are great, but at the end of the day they don’t mean much as far as what is actually going to happen.”

Said Washington: “We always talk about keeping the blinders on. We don’t really focus on what is going on outside of Charlotte softball. For me, when [the rankings] came out, I was like ‘Oh, I want to be No. 1.’ So, [Wichita State] is definitely going to be our biggest competition. When we play them, we will give it everything we’ve got like every game, but there will be a bit of a chip on my shoulder.”

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