Lady Hawks seek success
A late winter means early softball.
Pleasant Grove’s softball team brings all but one of its players back and looks to pile on the wins this season.
“Last year, I think that we grew as a team, and I was satisfied where our mental game was at the end of the season,” head coach Becca Collom said. “We gained a lot of confidence, and we found a happy medium that allowed us to risk without too much worry. The team grew tremendously in the latter part of the season, and I was satisfied with that.”
The Lady Hawks went 4-3 in District 15-4A last year, earned a playoff berth and fell 16-3 to Emory Rains in the bi-district round. Pleasant Grove is poised to make a longer playoff run this season.
“I am making sure we get all of our new players on board with maintaining a positive attitude,” Collom said. “Going far in the playoffs is always a goal, but we want to firstly protect that mentality that we built up last year in our culture.”
Maddie Horn, a senior, returns to the circle as the main pitcher for the Hawks. Two younger pitchers in Harleigh O’Neal and Lexi Snyder join Horn in the rotation.
“Maddie did a great job for us last year,” Collom said. “Harleigh and Lexi have pitched for me in scrimmages, and they are looking good. It will be nice to have some relief for Maddie, so I am pretty fired up.”
The Hawks are led by seniors Horn, Hanna Snyder, Kaylee Kelley, Kristin Key and Emily Hilton.
“The seniors each bring something different to the table, and they are a fun group,” Collom said. “They are positive and help keep the other players in line. We enjoy being around each other. They make it fun, but we work hard and get down to the nitty-gritty.”
Horn is also used as a designated hitter, Snyder plays center field, Kelley is in left, Key second base and Hilton either right field or first base.
Bre Jones is back at shortstop, Presley Hargrove returns at third base, and Zoe Smith is projected to start at catcher.
Alex Norton is back and played right field and pinch hitter last season, and Natalie Nickolson was a designated hitter last year.
Rounding out the roster are Libby McMurphey, McKinley MacBride, Hallie Lipham, Emma Crabtree, Isabelle Hackleman, Ann Elise Lindsay and Timia Cooks.
“This group is fun, fun, fun,” Collom said. “They are hard-nosed and they work hard; they know where that line is. I tell them that winning is hard and that we’re all about it. But at the end of the day if we aren’t enjoying what we are doing, then what are we doing?
“They are enjoying getting back into the swing of things and being outside. The girls are fired up, and they are enjoying each other. I hope we can continue that jell and move that towards taking care of business. We need to keep that going and have it for the postseason.”