In his second year as head softball coach for the Marietta Lady Indians, Kevin Parsons has one goal: more wins this season than last.
“Last year we won five games,” Parsons said, “and this year, we are still in a rebuilding phase.”
This year’s Lady Indian team has no seniors, and the number of players increases with each class, so the team’s size is growing, and the talent will hopefully be hanging around for a while.
The Lady Indians suffered one key loss from last year’s team: Haven Matthews.
“In fast pitch, one of your biggest keys is pitching, but in slow pitch, it’s about how well you play defense,” Parsons said. “Haven had great speed in the outfield and ran down many fly balls that might’ve been base hits. D.J. Perez is another player we will miss because of her intensity.”
But Parsons said that the team does have players who are stepping in to fill the shoes of those two, as well as players who are stepping up to fill other positions.
For instance, Laney Hicks will carry the pitching load for the Lady Indians, and Parsons expects good things from her.
In other positions, Parsons said that the team has several players who are not playing their natural positions and are being asked to step up.
“Jaylynn Hartman will be playing shortstop for us,” he said. “This is a position that is not natural for her but is something we are asking her to step up and do. Jayci Waldrop will be asked to step up as a freshman and take control of the outfield.
“We have been working hard in the weight room, with several of our girls competing in powerlifting, and I hope to see this translate into some much needed offensive power coming from Taryn Blankenship, Jordyn Metcalf, and Kenze Hartman.”
Parsons sees hard work and effort from the Lady Indians, which should mean improvement in the number of games in the win column from last year.