Lady Badgers want to get back to postseason
BY MARK BUFFALO STAFF WRITER
The Arkadelphia Lady Badgers are coming off a 10-13 campaign in which they failed to make postseason play. The team also has a new coach this year, Mark Coon, who has coached for 26 years and 10 years at Arkadelphia. He is assisted by Ben Barras and Jim Bebee. Coon was previously an assistant baseball coach for the Badgers. The Lady Badgers return four starters from last year’s squad: seniors Lyndi Porter, Ashlyn Taylor and Mollie Daniell; and junior Hannah Fennochi, who is coming off surgery on one of her anterior cruciate ligaments in a knee. “I was real impressed with the two games we played Thursday night from an offensive standpoint,” Coon said, referring to an 11-1 win over Texarkana and an 18-11 win over Gurdon on March 1. “We probably should be pretty good offensively right now, considering how much time we’ve spent inside because of the rain. Those two things usually go hand in hand when you can get inside and get a lot of offensive work done. “Defensively, we’ve got a ways to go. I’m real pleased with the kids buying into what we’re trying to get them to do. I think that showed Thursday night. They are real positive and real excited about what’s going on right now. We just want that to continue.” Coon said his best hitter for average is Taylor. She is also the team’s best power hitter. The team’s best fielder is junior Cloie Sicking, the coach said. Porter has the team’s best speed. Taylor also has the best defensive arm on the team. Daniell is the team’s best pitcher. Taylor has already committed to Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. “We expect to be competitive with strong senior leadership and with young players who will have to grow up fast,” Coon said. “Everybody’s goal in the state is to get to the postseason. I think this group, if everybody stays healthy and they continue on, has a good shot of advancing outside of the district this year to regionals.”
Those two things usually go hand in hand when you can get inside and get a lot of offensive work done.” MARK COON ARKADELPHIA SOFTBALL HEAD COACH