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Eight full-time starters return from last season’s Lady Bulldog softball squad, but new additions in the form of seven freshmen have upped the level of competition for playing time as next Monday’s season opener at Trenton approaches.
"The freshman class is a very talented class, and since we have been so young in the past we haven’t graduated a lot of our seniors," said head coach Casey Moberly. "We have depth at every position this year and that makes Coach Courtney Ray and I very happy," she added. "It will make our job harder to try and put the best lineup on the field because we have so many that can play at the varsity level."
With a bigger player pool to choose starters from, Coach Moberly has seen a big change in the work ethic of her team compared to a year ago.
"The girls know and see that they have competition at their position and they need to work hard and get better every day if they want to start and play," he said. "I feel that since we have so many girls returning that have experience, our leadership has improved," she adds.
Gallatin is still a young team with only one senior on the roster, but that is offset by the amount of experience back from last season’s 10-17 team. Senior Ashley Burns, juniors Kylie Cameron, Marissa McNeely, Celsie Baker and Megan Beck; and sophomores Morgan Horvatin, Kaitlyn McNeely, Kaitlyn Hefley and Kirbie Crouse all started at some time in 2010.
The versatility of this year’s roster shows up no clearer than on the pitching rubber. The Lady Bulldogs gain three freshmen pitchers (Sara Lin, Kailey Salmon, Kylie Collins) to go with a pair of returning hurlers (Baker, Horvatin).
"I feel comfortable to put any of the five in to pitch for the varsity," Coach Moberly said. "If they continue to develop the team will be hard to contend with in the future with that many pitchers," she added.
Coaches Moberly and Ray also welcome the addition of the bat and glove of freshman infielder Aubrey Nelson. Adding depth to the lineup are sophomore outfielders Jade Steele, Elena Steele, and freshmen outfielders Sabrina Steele, Kristina Steele and Tannah Terry (IF/OF).
Following Monday’s trip to Trenton, the Lady Bulldogs travel the next day to Milan for more non-conference action. Gallatin hosts Maysville in a Tuesday, Aug. 30 home opener.