For the MSU softball team, this season has been one that hasn’t had many bright spots.

Freshman outfielder Lea Foerster has been one of those bright spots.

Head coach Jacquie Joseph has noticed the improvement of Foerster, and in a season where MSU has fallen to 16-29, including a 1-15 record in the conference.

“I’ve been impressed with Lea since day one,” she said. “In February she wasn’t in the starting lineup. She had not done the things she needed to do to get in the starting lineup.”

While on the bench Foerster was asked to pinch hit against Stetson. After that she cemented her place in the starting lineup.

“She’s never given up the position,” Joseph said. “She’s as resilient of a player as we’ve ever had. She’s got a short memory, and she does everything the way she’s supposed to do it.”

Foerster has seen her hard work pay off in the box score. She is currently hitting .311 with two home runs and 23 RBI.

For Foerster, this freshman season has been a lot of fun.

“It’s awesome,” she said. “We have great team chemistry, right from day one I felt like I was part of the team.”

The hard work that Foerster has put into the season comes, in part, from watching the way the seniors on the team prepare as well.

“All of the seniors are really awesome,” she said. “Good days or bad days they’re always there for you. They’ve been there, they’ve been through everything. They help us freshman out so much.”

Despite her success, Foerster admitted that the transition from high school to college has not always been the easiest.

“It’s a lot more time, it’s a lot of hard work,” she said. “Nothing can really prepare you for it. It’s just going into everything thinking with the right mentality, that you’re going to give it 100 percent every day.”

Even with the losses, Foerster said this season has been a great experience.

“We fight hard every game,” she said. “We just try to be better and see if it works.”