Lady Leopards look to build on positive experience last season
Liberty-Eylau’s softball squad is set to prove last season’s 22-8 skid was no fluke.
The Lady Leopards begin action today at H.E. Markham Park, hosting Hooks at 5 p.m.
“It was a positive year for us last season, and hopefully we can take last year’s experience to build upon,” Liberty-Eylau head coach Kendra Cullum said. “There were a lot of changes last year that involved a lot of growing.”
The Leopards return their entire squad minus one player, which Cullum believes will be their advantage the entire season.
Seven seniors will lead L-E in 2019, which makes for a recipe for success.
“The girls really bought in last year,” Cullum said. “They believed in our plan and also the culture we were instilling at the time. We have some really good athletes here at Liberty-Eylau. We like to use our athleticism and we like to use our speed.
“With them buying into the philosophy of being on the attack and making our opponents make mistakes, we got really comfortable in that position. As long as we can continue to build on that from last season, I think we’ll be alright.”
The Leopards fell to Bullard in the Area round last season but Cullum and her staff have found ways throughout the offseason to continue to build.
“I came from the college ranks so I was expecting our girls to raise their play to a higher level, I know they’re capable of doing that,” Cullum said. “We have to just keep progressing everyday. They know what’s expected of them. There’s a very high level of focus every single day. Some people fall under that but these girls have risen.
“Hopefully, we’ll continue to do that to remain successful.”
Mariah Coleman, Tamara Norris, Kayla Norris, Keeley Norris, Isabella Gunderson, Tyrah Venable, Alyssia Walker and Savannah Phelps are the upperclassmen the Leopards will lean to down the stretch during the season.
“Our coaching staff is very positive and energetic, but we do break down the details,” Cullum said. “Last year, they felt like they were doing something wrong as opposed to this year, there has been a learning mentality from them.
“When they use the learning mentality, instead of the outcome mentality, we’re able to grow. It takes a very mature athlete to be able have the learning mentality and not just outcome oriented.”
McKenzye Williamson, Tamara Norris, Shelby Ryther, Lakenya Crowley, Leah Walker, Kaclyn Nelson, Alyssa Littles, Taliyah James and Laila Pegue round out the rest of the Liberty-Eylau roster.
“We’re going to have a lot of good competition in the first couple of weeks in the season,” Cullum said. “Hopefully, it’ll get us ready for district play because we have some really good teams in our district this year. It’ll be tough, especially with some of our girls coming over from basketball.
“I think we’re going to be better than last year because all of the girls this year know what we expect and how we’re going to do things. They know we’re going to pressure our opponents and take our chances when we can. If we can score a lot of runs, we’re going to be alright. As long as we stay consistent, we should be fine.”
2019 Liberty-Eylau Softball Schedule Date Site-opponent Time
Feb. 13 Hooks 5 p.m.
Feb. 14-16 at Lear Park tourney TBA Feb. 26 y-at Magnolia 5 p.m.
Feb. 28-Mar. 2 at Ashdown tourney TBA Mar. 5 Atlanta 5 p.m.
Mar. 7-9 at New Boston tourney TBA Mar. 12 at Texas High 4:30 p.m. Mar. 15 x-Pittsburg 5 p.m.
Mar. 19 x-at Pleasant Grove 4:30 p.m. Mar. 22 x-Paris 4:30 p.m.
Mar. 26 x-at North Lamar 4:30 p.m. Apr. 2 x-at Pittsburg 5 p.m.
Apr. 5 x-Pleasant Grove 4:30 p.m. Apr. 9 x-at Paris 4:30 p.m.
Apr. 12 x-North Lamar 4:30 p.m. Apr. 16 BYE x-District 15-4A game y-at Arkansas High