With basketball having come and gone, local schools are set to open up the 2022 softball season this week. Here’s a breakdown of what’s ahead for each team respectively.
Daviess County
After falling just shy of its first fast-pitch state championship in program history in 2021, Daviess County is looking to return to form and grow as they attempt to reach their goal of bringing home some hardware this season.
The Lady Panthers return a barrage of players who saw some postseason action in the state tournament. Offensively this includes key players like Auburn commit and catcher Millie Roberts, junior corner infielder Jessie Daniels and senior corner infielder Hattie Newman.
Junior Raylee Roby will hold down the main responsibilities in the circle this season after a stellar run to the end of her sophomore season, while Sophie Simone, Katie Mewes, Kinsey Vergason, and Seana Leibfried round out the remaining upperclassmen that saw playing time in the 2021 postseason.
Head Coach John Biggs also said that juniors Kayley Payne and Kaydence Hamilton have looked good in preseason workouts and should provide some added depth.
“We have an ‘old team’ with a lot of varsity experience that understands what it takes to be successful,” Biggs said. “The coaching staff has challenged the players to ‘just get better’. If each player will be better than they were last year, that should translate into team success”
And while Daviess County has a vast amount of experience on its roster, they do have some holes to fill after the graduation of pitcher Greysee Whitaker and now WKU Hilltopper Abby Newman who was the leadoff hitter and shortstop for the Lady Panthers.
“We’ll need to develop our pitching staff,” Biggs said. “Alexis Jackson, junior, along with some young arms will be a part of this development. We will need to have consistent defensive play at shortstop, with the graduation of four-year starter Abby Newman. We have a few in mix and we’ll see how things play out throughout the season.”
Biggs and company believe they have a lot of depth and will give players opportunities to gain experience in competitive situations to help them become a more complete team as the season goes along. In order to even further this notion, the Lady Panthers will challenge themselves with a number of tough opponents throughout the year.
“We have put together another very competitive schedule that will include multiple teams that will be in the top-25,” Biggs said. “We will be challenged early when we travel to McCracken County for an early season tournament and then to Woodford County for a midseason tournament.”
Daviess County will open up the regular season at home, as they are set to take on Lyon County at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 19.
Owensboro
Following an 8-19 2021 campaign, Owensboro softball is looking to bounce back this season with more varsity experience under its belt.
The Lady Devils return six starters from last year’s squad, including infielder Sophie Moorman, infielder and pitcher Brooke Keller, Emmi Connor, outfielder Addison Hill, infielder Lindsey Gibson, outfielder and pitcher Lauren Hughes.
Along with this core of upperclassmen, Head Coach Quincy Moorman is expecting big things from players with limited varsity experience such as Elli Embry, Kirsten Tindle, Keely Harris and Paige Hughes.
“We are looking for them to be contributors in various aspects of the game,” Moorman said. “We are looking for Embry to fill the void at second base while bringing an aggressive bat and some speed on the bases. We are looking for Tindle to step in at first base and bring a strong bat to the plate. She will also see some mound time. Hughes and Harris will be called upon to help solidify the outfield. Harris brings an energy to the game that the program needs. She is a spark plug. Hughes adds talent and an understanding of the game, while also adding a left-handed bat in the lineup.”
Prior to the 2022 season’s start, the Lady Devils coaching staff asked their players to write down their individual and team goals. The top team goal was to get better every day in order to compete amongst the best in district play.
One way they expect to do so is by making sure they are not making it too easy offensively for opponents in the circle.
“Our pitching has to limit the number of free bases,” Moorman said. “Last season, we put too many runners on base via walk or hit batter. For us to compete, especially in this district, we have to make teams earn their bases. We can’t just give them freebies. Our defense was much improved last season and we expect to be even stronger this season defensively. If we force teams to hit the ball and the defense makes plays, we will be in a lot of ballgames.”
Owensboro said that they also have to get production offensively all throughout the lineup, whereas last season they struggled getting consistency as a team.
“Another area we are looking to improve is team batting average,” Moorman said. “We had a few players hit very well last season, but we fell off after those 3-4 players. We have to hit well overall. We can’t consistently have 1-2-3 innings and expect to compete. We had some players putting in the time in the cages in the offseason, and I think it’s going to show.”
Moorman said the Lady Devils have more talent in the program than they have in the past and feels like the coaching staff has done a good job of developing the players and getting them to buy into offseason work. Pair that with a strong strength of schedule and Owensboro is poised to shock some teams this season.
“Healthy competition is always a plus in sports, and we have some young, hungry girls vying for playing time,” Moorman said. “I truly expect to see a better product this season. We have probably the toughest schedule the program has ever seen, but that’s the only way to get better and build a quality program. I think we are on the right track.”
The Lady Devils will open up the season on the road, as they are set to take on Hancock County at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 14.
Owensboro Catholic
After falling in the 3rd Region Semifinals last season, the Lady Aces are looking to consistently improve day in and day out to find themselves back in the postseason hunt once again.
Coming off a 2021 campaign in which they finished 21-14, Owensboro Catholic will have some shoes to fill with the graduation of key players such as Hadley Phelps, Hannah Carter and Gracie Jennings. However, with a core of juniors returning and senior infielder Camille Conkright back as well, the Lady Aces have plenty of experience on the roster.
Along with Conkright who was second on the team with a .343 batting average last year, infielder Bailey Hamilton, infielder Addison Tignor, outfielder Lilli Grant and outfielder Abbie Dukate all return to the field for the Lady Aces.
Lexy Hatchett and Brooke Hamilton also return and will hold things down in the circle, looking to pick up where they left off without Phelps this year.
“Everything starts in the circle,” said Head Coach Jeremy Phelps. “Lexy and Brooke will need to feed off each other to make each other better.”
Owensboro Catholic also has some returning juniors in Ashten Tignor, Kira Edwards and Lily Pinkston that Phelps expects to have bigger roles in the outfield for them throughout the season.
The Lady Aces also have a number of utility players in sophomores Ruthie Jones, Kailey Hamilton, Kiley Kemper and Maci Merritt (utility players) that they will look to often. Pairing this group with a plethora of upperclassmen, Phelps believes they can have a good balance throughout the lineup.
“Older girls leading by example with commitment and effort, being accountable and doing the little things right is key,” Phelps said. “All players accepting roles asked of them, ready to perform when called upon [will be big as well].”
Phelps believes that with this group they have the potential to be very deep, as long as the players push each other in practice.
“We are looking to improve team depth,” Phelps said. “We feel like we have more players ready this year to help contribute which creates competition and holds players accountable. Looking for consistency in all three phases of the game; pitching, hitting and defense.”
Phelps furthered the notion of positive competition amongst the players, saying that if they can do that and steadily improve they will be able to compete night in and night out.
“We expect and talk about daily improvement throughout the season,” Phelps said. “The standard of how they represent themselves, their school and their team. Their accountability to themselves and team on and off the field, along with the drive to compete and challenging teammates.”
Apollo
Following a 12-19 season in which Apollo was ousted in the first round of the 9th District Tournament, they are expecting to turn things around and make a deep postseason run.
The E-gals will have its core in the circle back from the 2021 season in Emmie Bullington, K’asia Palmer and Sydney Saalwaechter. Apollo will look to Palmer to lead the team at the plate again, paired with Bullington and other key returners in Morgan Julian, Macy Calhoun, and Morgan Frizzell.
In order to turn things around this season Head Coach Stephen Julian said they will have to get an all-around performance on the field in the circle and defensively, while following it up with some run production of course.
“To be successful, we have to play solid defense and not walk a lot of batters this season,” Julian said. “Then [we have to] swing the bats like we are capable of.”
Julian went a step further, saying that if they can avoid digging themselves holes defensively, they should be able to see more numbers in the win column.
As far as expectations for the 2022 campaign, Julian said that the E-gals are poised for a successful season with a key returning group and a number of newcomers that can make an impact right away.
“Expect a big improvement over last year and expect a team full of energy and hunger out of the girls already mentioned as well as Olivia Crawford, Courtney hagan, Arianna Ramirez, Hessi Johnson, Hannah Snell, Ashleigh Howard, Liza Page and several more who should help at the varsity level,” Julian said.
Trinity (Whitesville)
Falling just shy of a 12th District Championship last season, Trinity (Whitesville) is poised for a deep postseason run with its entire starting lineup back.
At the plate they will look to first baseman Katherine Hibbitt, infielder Abby Payne and Cassidy Morris. Morris will make her return to catching in 2022, as she was unable to play last season due to an ACL tear and Head Coach Jack Melton believes she is one of the best in the region.
The Lady Raiders will also count on Allie Barnett at the plate and in the circle, as Melton has said that she gained notable speed during the offseason. Along with this crew, Melton has a number of players he thinks can take a big leap this year.
“Raylee Higdon who played almost every game last season as a DP will step into a starting role this season and be a big bat for us,” Melton said. “Hope Boarman has worked very hard over the off season and will see some time and Senior Maddie Logsdon is back after leaving us last season. She is working hard to get back in the lineup.”
With the amount of experience Trinity has throughout its roster, Melton said if they can sharpen things up in the circle and in the field they can take home some hardware this season.
“Pitching for them to hit their spots and to cut down on earned runs,” Melton said. “Tighter defense and less errors [will also be crucial].”
If they can pair this with a consistent approach at the plate, Melton thinks they compete for a number of postseason championships in 2022.
“I think we have a solid group that can compete with anybody in the region if we can put it all together and be consistent at the plate and in the field,” Melton said.
