Softball previews
PLYMOUTH — As long the weather cooperates it will be a win for Plymouth softball on Apr. 1 when they take on Caston in a scrimmage.
A year ago COVID19 took the season away from the Plymouth girls. A very young and promising team under new head coach John Johnson had to wait a year to show what they could do.
“It was the day after our first practice outdoors,” said Johnson. “We had some google meets and tried to stay positive and sent them some workouts but as it went on we knew that it wasn’t going to happen.”
The girls weren’t sitting around during the wait.
“We were able to get out in July (2020) and do some things,” said Johnson. “We had some girls come out and we worked on some fundamentals. During the winter we were able to get into the gym and do some things. Being able to get outside the past couple of weeks has been great. We get to see what they look like on the field and we are happy with what we are seeing.”
“Even with our younger girls coming into the program there was no rec league,” said Johnson. “Some of them were able to play some fall ball in Winamac and Rochester but overall they missed a full year of softball program wide.”
“We have really tried to reach out to the younger girls to get them involved with things,” he said. “My two JV coaches (Crystal
Patrick and Brittany Runyan) took a team to Winamac this year to play fall ball. We have some pitchers in that younger group that we needed to get out there to face live hitters. It was really good for us.”
“We hit as much as possible during the winter and every day at practice just so they have that under their belt when we start.”
Just what that start will look like out of the gate is another question. It’s one thing to look good in intrasquad drills but taking on an opponent is another thing entirely.
“It’s difficult to know where we stand until we go against somebody else,” said Johnson. “We practice against each other and we see some things that look really good but will they look good when we do them against somebody else? We scrimmage on April 1 against Caston. That will be really good for all of us to see where we are.”
The coach still has some ideas and options starting with two seniors in the circle.
“Kaleigh Einspahr will probably be our number one and we will rely on her a lot,” said Johnson. “She had a year off just like everybody else and we’ve been working her in making sure that she’s strong enough to go three times a week. If not Brooklyn Brennan has been showing some signs and she’s a senior so we have
two seniors that we are going to mix and match with.”
Seniors at two other key spots add to the positive feel.
“Mia Wojcik will be our shortstop, she’s a senior. She is probably our bedrock,” said Johnson. “We are going to put a lot on her leadership-wise and expect some big things from her.”
“Ann Anders is our senior catcher she’s a great leader,” said Johnson. “Ann and Mia are the two that we are going to lean on the most to help us through tough times.”
A battle for a spot at third base will likely also decide another position.
“Anna Hutchings and Makayla Silveus are fighting it out,” said Johnson. “The winner will play third base and the other will likely end up playing center field. The way they are hitting I can’t keep either one of them off the field.”
Motivation hasn’t been a problem in the early going.
“They are so excited to be out there that it hasn’t been hard to get them going when it’s time to go,” said Johnson.
With some athleticism from top to bottom in the lineup, Johnson says his team will try to get after it on the base paths.
“We are going to have to get out and run,” he said. “If we get runners on base we have to be as aggressive as possible. We can’t sit back and wait on a big inning, we will have to force the issue.”
“We know people are going to try to do that to us too, try to push us into situations where we are going to make mistakes,” he said. “Expect us to be aggressive, we aren’t going to sit and wait.”