By Chris Neyenhouse
The Conway softball team returns four starters from a team who enjoyed a breakout season a year ago. Their 12 wins represented their first winning season since 2012.
Lady Bears head coach Ben Phillips will once again be relying on his two seniors to set the tone.
Ace Trista Simpson is back in a familiar role.
“She is a strong kid that has been the pitcher for this group since they were in elementary school,” said Phillips. “She really knows how to use the strike zone and pitch count to her advantage.”
The other senior is Madison Officer who will be relied upon to generate runs.
“Maddie has a strong bat and will help our team on offense,” Phillips said.
The team also has a bit of a secret weapon to back up Simpson at pitcher.
“Maddie Thompson is our other pitcher, and she is a freshman this year,” Phillips said. “She is tall at six feet. She also plays volleyball and basketball. She is young and is still learning how to pitch, but her size and athleticism will make her fun to watch from the circle this year.”
Abbie Brake and Morgan Weddle return to the corner outfield spots. But the team will have to replace key defensive positions at both catcher and center field. Plus, the rest of the infield.
“Abbie Brake has improved a ton over the offseason,” Phillips said. “She has gotten stronger and grown as a hitter, but she should because she has played a lot of softball over the summer.
Matilda Medlin, Karli Miller, Abigail Gann, Kirsten Keck, Kassidy Haring, Katie Davis, Alejandra De Escalza, Celeste Sanchez, and Alexa Rushing are also in the mix for playing time.
“We are a very young team with three upperclassmen and ten underclassmen,” Phillips said. “So, we need to focus early in the season on the fundamentals and get them adjusted to high school softball. Hopefully by middle of the season we have a pretty good handle on where everyone is going to play and how they are going to help the team.”
Conway begins the season at Licking March 18.
