Courtney Overton
Staff writer
The Lady Hawks have been shaping up for a new start. After losing some strong and impressive players, the Hawks started their season on Feb. 10.
Four-time NAIA All- American Libby Munson was one of the most impressive players Coach Al Thomas has ever coached. Now that she is gone, he is determined to strive for excellence with hopes of appearing in the NAIA National Championship for the sixth time in a row.
Thomas isn’t looking to replace Munson. Instead, he hopes players will fill the gap that she left and move forward as a team. The team this year isn’t completely new. The Lady Hawks have several returners, one being senior center fielder Charlsie Broome.
Broome has been playing softball for 18 years now. She and her late mother played softball together in their spare time, and they shared the dream of Broome playing college ball. She accomplished that dream and is now one of the strongest leaders of the team. As one of the remaining seniors, she is one of the ones who hope to lead this team to a championship.
“My biggest goal would be for us to win our conference and nationals,” said Broome.
Broome doesn’t see many challenges facing the team this season, but she does understand that the team is young and that may present a challenge because they haven’t had college experience. One of these new players is freshman pitcher Mallory Waller who has had to adjust to a higher level of play.
“It’s faster paced than what I was used to in high school and the coach is a lot more specific with what we do,” said Waller.
Waller has been playing softball since she was 10 years old. She dedicates three to four hours every day Monday through Friday to practicing, and she is either practicing or playing in a game every weekend.
“Softball is a passion of mine. I wouldn’t dedicate so much time to it if it wasn’t,” said Waller. “I love the feeling of being in a jersey and stepping on the field with my teammates on game day.”
She believes winning is the best feeling in the world because it represents the hard work leading to the victory.
Thomas isn’t worried about having a pitcher this season or for seasons to come. The new team consists of multiple pitchers, many of whom are freshmen.
“We believe that we not only have the starting nine to get the job done, but that we have the deepest pitching staff we’ve ever had and that we’re deeper on the bench than ever before,” said Thomas.
This season is the Lady Hawks’ last season in NAIA and they plan to make it their best season ever.
“This is our last chance in the NAIA and our kids are more focused than ever to finish the drill,” said Thomas. Sophomore Jackie Castaneda readies herself to make a run for the base. Though there are only eight upper- classmen this year, the team has a lot of depth.
