In the KCAC preseason rankings, the Thresher softball team came up to be ranked ninth. During the early parts of their season, they have taken many trips for weekend tournaments and played many non-conference doubleheaders to get prepared for the quickly upcoming conference play.
With last season’s conference record being 6-18, the girls hope to flip it around this season.
“We were preseason ranked 8th but I know that we are ready to prove otherwise. Good things are coming I know that for sure. Just need to keep working hard and improve so we can make it to postseason play! I think we have a great team and I think we will do some great things,” sophomore Lynzi Myrick, from Larned, KS, said.
The team had multiple freshmen come in this season to hopefully make a big impact on the team.
“I think the biggest challenge for me was adjusting to Coach Middleton’s style of coaching. Before coming to Bethel I had played for the same coach for four years and I was coached much differently on that team. It took some time to figure out what Coach wanted but I think it made me tougher and I eventually overcame that challenge,” freshman Lauren Hurd, from Morrison, CO, said.
In the last NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, there was one team from the KCAC that was in the top 25. With the team having a lot to prove, they are feeling confident about conference play even with some good teams in the conference.
“We started the conference season on March 15th with a rough start getting swept by St. Mary's, but we have been putting in a lot of work in practice to improve and move on to the next game,” Myrick said.
The girls took a trip to a tournament in Allen, TX, for a tournament coming up 0-4 in that tournament, with one game being canceled. Then took a trip to OKC for a tournament where they fell 0-3 and had an exhibition game as well. Then took on a tournament in McPherson where they came up 1-2.
“I feel really confident going into conference play, we played some tough teams at the beginning of the season before conference to help us be prepared,” Myrick said.
The team had to face some challenges when there was ice or snow on the fields and did other workouts and things to still be able to practice.
“We work with a local club softball team here in Newton and they have a small indoor facility that they allow us to use. In this facility we are able to go in small groups for hitting and there is a pitching area in the back so our pitchers and catchers can still work together. They also go lift in workout pods in Mem,” Associate Head Coach, Stacy Middleton said.
Make sure you get out to watch a few softball games and cheer them on this spring!
