By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
2022 was a bit of a rebuild for Logan-Rogersville.
The Wildcats finished with a 3-24 record in head coach Manny Flores’s first season at the helm.
“Last year was my first year at LR,” Flores said. “The girls had to learn a new routine with a new coaching staff just as we had to learn our girls. This year, our girls will have a better grasp on what our expectations are as a program and how we want them to play the game.”
A trio of sophomores return to lead a young Rogersville squad in Amelia Booth, Sydney Prenger and Abby Filak.
Booth, a catcher, hit over .400 as a freshman.
“Amelia anchored the middle of our lineup,” Flores said. “Her defense behind the plate is second to none and I’m excited to watch her grow as a leader on the field.”
Prenger, a pitcher, served as the team’s ace last season.
“Sydney received the bulk of our innings last year and we expect the same this year,” Flores said. “If she commands the zone this year she will be very hard to hit and I’m excited to watch her grow as a leader in the circle for our team.”
Filak also returns and will lead the team in the outfield.
“Abby will be relied upon to anchor our outfield,” Flores said. “She has the potential to be a very good bat in our lineup.”
Flores also expects a host of freshmen infielders to compete for varsity playing time, including Courtney Batey, Avery Robinson, Makenna Luikart and Eva Spurlin.
“We are going to be a very young team and will be relying on a lot of freshmen to step up this year,” Flores said. “Destinee Rivera is a returning senior that we will also be relying on to help us in the circle and in the field.”
CLICK HERE FOR LINKS TO ALL OF OUR FALL SPORTS PREVIEWS
With so many underclassmen in the lineup – freshmen, in particular – Flores believes his team’s success will largely depend on how quickly those players can adjust to the speed and discipline required at the varsity level.
“It will be a big adjustment for our freshman to step up right away and play varsity softball while managing their grades in the classroom,” Flores said. “These girls will need to learn how to make adjustments throughout the course of a game and how to not let one pitch dictate the way they play.”
While the Wildcats may be young this season, Flores believes his team’s overall softball experience will definitely help with development.
“We have a lot of girls that have played a lot of softball,” Flores said. “I fully expect us to play the game the right way day in and day out. This team will get stronger as the year goes on and our younger girls make the adjustment to varsity softball. We have a very exciting group but we will need to gel in order to compete at our best come district time.”
Rogersville opens its season Aug. 26 with a doubleheader at East Carter against Twin Rivers and the host school.
