By Chris Parker
Conway softball will rely on a mix of experienced and young players coming off a five-win season last spring.
“We have a good mix of young players and experienced players,” Conway head coach Ben Phillips said. “My athletes that have experience playing for me should be able to compete and pass on some of that knowledge to the younger group. We have our struggles, coming from where they were when I took this program over, but this group has a lot of fun and really enjoy the game.”
Seniors Emily Twyman (catcher), Carlie Stark (third base) and Gibby Beckler (first base) along with junior Trista Simpson (pitcher) will be team leaders.
Twyman hit .456 with a 1.332 OPS last season. She had two home runs and drove in 16 runs while scoring 19.
“She (Twyman) has been our fulltime catcher for the last two seasons and projects again as our fulltime catcher,” Phillips said. “She does a really good job behind the plate for us and even though there’s multiple spots in the lineup for her she has been our leadoff the last two years as well.”
Stark had a .404 on-base percentage as a junior with 12 RBI.
“She (Stark) can play any position for us,” Phillips said. “(She) is a very good defensive player and has come in clutch hitting for us in some games. (She is a) middle of the lineup bat has a knack for driving in runs when we need them.
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Beckler hit .413 with a 1.190 OPS in her junior season. She added in 15 runs scored and 14 RBI.
“Gibby is an all-state volleyball athlete that comes out in the spring to help us out,” Phillips said. “She bats in the middle of our lineup, is a power hitter, and provides a morale boost to this team.”
Simpson was the team’s top pitcher last season throwing 72 innings and striking out 83.
“Trista has been the pitcher for this group, nobody else has stuck with it so pitching has all just fell on her shoulders,” Phillips said. “The problem has been she struggled with injuries the last couple of season, but when she’s healthy the team leans on her.”
Gracie McGuire (sophomore) will join Beckler and Stark on the infield at shortstop.
Maddie Officer (junior), Makenna Shifflett (senior) and Abbie Brake (sophomore) will be in the outfield.
Both Brake and Shifflet have made improvements in the offseason.
“Faith Shifflett and Abbie Brake have improved a lot over the last year through summer games and offseason work,” Phillips said. “Abbie was a JV player last year that had struggled at the plate and has been working hard to add a couple of dimensions to her game that will help us out a ton. Faith hasn’t been playing for very long but was a starter both years of junior high ball and was almost exclusively behind the plate. She has been putting in a lot of work this offseason and might even be able to win a spot in the outfield next to her sister Makenna that has been a three-year varsity starter for me.”
Conway opens the season Mar. 17-18 at the Summit Conference Tournament.
“We are the scrappy team that want to make a few plays and be in every game,” Phillips said. “We are still a very young rebuilding program that is just trying to get better every day and enjoy the process.”
