The Perryville softball team is gunning for a third region title in four years. First-year coach David Ruark is happy by what he has seen so far in preseason practice. "I feel good about our team but we still have a lot of things to work on," he said. Emily Phillips is coming off a successful freshman season in the circle and is expected to see a bulk of the pitching duties.
Ruark also plans to use junior lefty Lydia Hill. Hill has not pitched much recently on high school or travel teams, but will get a chance this season. The Panthers have two capable catchers – freshman Amber Keene and junior Carly White. "We're going to tinker and find the best possible lineup we can," Ruark said. "Both of them are going to play somewhere and we expect big things." Hill will be starting at first base for the third straight season. White and junior Aleshia Shires are competing for playing time at second base. Freshman Ellen Little is slated to be the starting shortstop. "She can make the routine plays and her bat is good," Ruark said. "She just needs to build confidence. Being a starting shortstop on varsity is a lot to take in." Ashley Meekins, Kaitlyn Griffin and Jules Jones are vying for time at third base. Ruark could also get Griffin's bat in the lineup as a DP. Freshman Nicole DiGiambattista, sophomores Kadi Davis and Nikki Hill, Jones, and Emily Baker, the lone senior on the active roster, are part of the outfield equation. Senior infielder Krystle Schweers is hoping to recover from a knee injury in time for the stretch run. "Our expectations are that we'll go by trial and error for the first month of the season," said Ruark. "By the end of April, we want to have a better idea of what the lineup will look like." Comments are closed.
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