By Chris Parker
Parkview softball returns nine starters and will be led by a senior class featuring Emma Levings, Emily Bruning, Carlie Morgan and Hannah Holum.
“These (seniors) are all hard workers who are supportive of one another, as well as of the whole team,” Parkview head coach Ted Orcutt said. “They have encouraging and positive attitudes.”
Incoming freshman Annie Kral along with Holum and sophomore Kaelyn Cole will be the team’s pitchers.
Sophomore Sophie Hardee will be behind the plate at catcher once again.
Orcutt pointed to Cole and Hardee as two players who have shown marked improvement in the offseason.
“Two sophomores, Kaelyn Cole and Sophie Hardee, will be players to watch out for,” Orcutt said. “Both put in very hard work over the offseason. Kaelyn is very physically strong and has the chance to be a dangerous hitter. Sophie Hardee has also put in a lot of work to clean up her swing. Both have a chance to help increase our run production.”
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The infield will feature a combination of Aaliyah Cowden, Kenzie Wright and Hannah Holum at first. Emily Bruning and Carlie Morgan will be up the middle at shortstop. Cole will be at third base.
Experience and a deeper pitching staff will be strengths for Parkview this season.
“Aside from having a bit more overall experience across the board at the various positions, we now have two legitimate pitching options in Annie Kral and Hannah Holum,” Orcutt said. “Having someone who can throw strikes consistently often makes all the difference in softball, so this will give us a good chance to compete in more games. We also have a couple of high-on-base-percentage players in Emma Levings and Carlie Morgan. Both have good contact swings and running speed.”
Parkview opens the regular season on Aug. 28 at home against Marshfield.
