By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
Among the many reasons Logan-Rogersville coach Manny Flores is excited about the Lady Wildcats’ prospects this season is their infield.
Rogersville’s six returning starters include infielders Amelia Booth, Courtney Batey, Avery Robinson and Makenna Luikart.
“Our infield has the chance to be special,” Flores said. “We are returning almost our entire infield from last year and we saw a glimpse of how good they can be in our district game. We can take that next step by finding a way to give that extra effort on plays we may not think we can make (diving plays, secondary plays, fly balls in shallow outfield etc.).”
Abby Filak is back to anchor Rogersville’s outfield and pitcher Sydney Prenger returns in the center circle.
“I’m looking for Sydney to be more consistent in the zone and limit her walks/hbp,” Flores said. “Sydney can be a really good pitcher if she shows more consistency in the zone this year. She showed flashes of how good she can be at the beginning and end of last year.”
Flores thinks Booth and Filak will emerge as leaders.
“Amelia I’m looking to see if she can become a true leader both on and off the field for our team,” he said. “I’m looking for Abby to be the leader for our outfield and take the next step offensively as a dangerous weapon.”
Batey, Robinson and Luikart are all sophomores, after starting as freshmen last year.
“I’m looking for them to be more comfortable competing at the varsity level,” Flores said.
Freshman pitcher Bella Pope may make an immediate impact.
“Bella has the chance to compete for significant innings,” Flores said. “She will need to slow the game down when it speeds up on herself and she will need to learn how to compete when she doesn’t have her best stuff.”
Rogersville’s starting jobs in left field and right field are up for grabs.
“We will have a few players competing for our corner outfield spots, which is never a bad thing,” Flores said. “The more competition you have, the better you can be.”
Rogersville’s offense improved from 4.6 runs a game two years ago to 5.7 last season. Flores hopes that trend continues and likes the depth of his lineup.
“Offensively, we bring a young but experienced bunch of players,” he said. “We are going to be tough outs up and down the lineup. We are always going to preach controlled aggression in everything we do. We want girls that are going to attack the game both in the box and on the bases. We are always trying to find ways to put additional pressure on defenses with the way we compete.”
Flores is anxious to see how his players’ chemistry develops.
“As a group I’m looking to see how we can gel as a team,” he said. “Can we truly put our team’s needs in front of our own and if we can do this as a group we will have the opportunity to win a lot of games this year. I’m looking for our upperclassmen to take the next steps as leaders both on and off the field in order to help us gel better. I’m excited to get going with this group and I think we can accomplish a lot of our goals this year.”
This is Flores’ third year at Rogersville and he’s happy to be with the Lady Wildcats.
“The transition has been good,” he said. “The community is unbelievable when it comes to supporting LR athletics. We are currently in the process of building up our youth by having teams at almost every level and running various camps throughout the summer.
“It’s a tremendous place to coach and now I need to step up and find a way to put a consistent winner on the field for them,” he added.
Flores is interested to see how the Ozark Mountain Conference race plays out.
“The OMC is going to be very competitive year in and year out,” he said. “We are very excited to compete against the other six schools. We know we are going to have to show up and play our very best each and every night. I do think we can compete with every school in our conference and it’s going to be a fun race to be a part of.”
Rogersville will host a jamboree against Kickapoo and McDonald County. The Lady Wildcats will officially open at the Troy Lead-Off Classic and will host their Third Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Game.
“It’s one of my favorite events we hold, and we honor a breast cancer survivor from each team and we have a pink softball in centerfield to honor our team’s family members who have passed away due to breast cancer,” Flores said. “It’s a special event that our team looks forward to every year.”
