Lady 'Dogs boast young talent

Zach Urness

Leader Staff

The Mission Lady Bulldogs softball team will be as green as the outfield grass this season, featuring only two upperclassmen with varsity experience and a boat-load sophomores and freshmen.

But with veteran head coach Steve Woll at the helm and the return of seniors like Ashley Mitchell to help lead, the Lady ‘Dogs will be ready to make another run at the state tournament.

“We’re very young, but the upside is huge,” said Woll. “We have great potential but the early season will be a lot of trial and error. But I think that we’ll be fighting for a good position down the stretch.”

Despite fielding a team composed almost entirely of freshmen and sophomores, Woll has set the bar high for his team.

“We want to make it back to state,” he expounded. “It’ll be a little tougher this year, but you always want to make it to state and finish in the top four.”

With such a young team, perfecting the basics and fundamentals of the game have taken precedence in practice over the first few weeks.

“We want to be sure to not make any mental mistakes,” commented Woll. “We also need to know our game situations and be able to put the ball in play.”

And although Woll will have plenty of the basics to teach, he at least knows he’ll have one steady presence on the diamond in returning All-State athlete Ashley Mitchell.

“She is definitely going to be a leader,” said Woll.

Beyond Mitchell, Woll noted that there were plenty of spots on the diamond yet to be claimed.

“Trying to come up with a potential line-up has been interesting,” said Woll. “It’s just hard to know who is going to fit at which positions.”

The Lady ‘Dogs don’t have too much time for fine-tuning, as they open up the season Tuesday, March 27 at home against Ronan.

“We have high expectations,” said Woll. “But we have to get one win before we can really think about anything else.”