Fresh Players for Spring Softball
Taken from Unsplash.com
Lee’s 2017 softball season has officially begun.
With six new freshmen on the roster, Lee’s softball team has started their season with fresh energy.
Junior softball player Leigh Beatenbough said the freshmen are strong and she is looking forward to motivating and mentoring them as they navigate their first season as college athletes.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how they cope with playing in college and I think it’s going to be a great fresh start for us as a team,” she said. “They’re going to play a huge part of our infield.”
Beatenbough also explained how these new players will provide an advantage for the team because competitors in the conference have a lack of statistics on how the new athletes perform.
Freshman infield player Kayla Louie said she is excited for the season and the privilege of playing the sport she loves everyday with people who are so supportive.
“We’re a big family, and we’ll do anything for each other,” she said.
Although Lee’s athletic programs are still new to the NCAA Division II, this year’s seniors are the first class to have played in this association for the entirety of their time at the university. Lee’s softball coach Emily Russell explained that through this switch the biggest challenge was for the coaches as they had to reevaluate the competition. “We had a lot of adjustments to make, learning what it was like, who these teams were, what their strengths were and how we were going to be competitive,” said Coach Russell.
Russell said seniors on the team have motivated and shown support to the younger players this season. Infield seniors Holley Gray and Hailey Clark and outfield seniors Courtney Crawford, Rachel Polacek and Qiley Lewis have been instrumental in maintaining the team’s focus.
The team would love to see Lee students, faculty, and community members at their games. Coach Russell emphasized how much it means to the players to have a fan base and how entertaining the sport is to watch.
“A lot of people really enjoy it even if they’re not familiar with the rules,” she said. “It’s easy to get hooked on the game because it’s so fast paced.”
