Fall Sports: DeKalb softball reloads after breakthrough season
· Yahoo Sports
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Last year’s 14-8 season was the first winning season for DeKalb softball in six years. Despite the slow start this year, head coach Haley Horr and the Tigers are still looking to build upon last year’s campaign.
“Go out and win as many ballgames as we can,” senior Kelsey Chatman said of the team’s goals this year. “Just have a good season and even if we don’t win as many, let’s have a good game.”
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With the Tigers graduating a highly touted group of seniors, freshman Zoie Nowak has stepped into a major role. Horr has seemingly tested the freshman with a “sink or swim” approach, playing Nowak at shortstop in her first year of varsity action.
“I would say it’s a little challenging, you know, it’s a new thing,” Nowak told the News-Press. “But it’s fun definitely.”
Nowak flies around at shortstop with multiple diving stops and a double play against Platte Valley. The freshman looks incredibly comfortable at the position.
“I think they deserve all of the backup in the world because they’re putting their heart out into the game,” Nowak said of supporting her pitchers with her glove. “That’s the least we can do as a team is support them and what they’re doing.”
Nowak leads the defense with her glove at shortstop while Chatman leads the offense with her bat. The senior collected a pair of RBIs in a 12-10 loss to Platte Valley last Thursday.
The Tigers have seen adversity to start the season. With a record of 1-4, the focus now shifts to how they respond to that adversity.
“Probably using communication,” Chatman said of their effort to bounce back. “We have young girls and I think there’s a lot, I think we expect a lot out of them. Sometimes we need to just be a little easier on them.”
It’s been a slow start, but that’s not to say there haven’t been bright spots for the Tigers. Junior Gretchyn Bowers has gotten off to a strong start with her bat. The third baseman went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a walk as she looks to take another leap as an upperclassman.
The offense for DeKalb is a strength while the team looks to establish an ace on the mound. Chatman and junior Shaylee Phillips have split time at pitcher while giving opposing offenses different looks.
“No one really pitches at DeKalb so whoever can fill in,” Chatman said. “So whoever fills in we hope they do a great job and whoever needs to it’s good.”
As a captain and leader for the Tigers, Chatman looks to embrace her role as a senior.
“It’s really fun,” Chatman said of the role of captain. “I’m the accountability captain so taking responsibility for all the stuff and making sure it gets picked up and we have good games.”
For the group of Tigers that was involved in last year’s team, the challenge now is turning one winning season into something sustainable. DeKalb is younger and still searching for consistency, but the foundation created last year gives the program something to build from.
The 1-4 start may not be what the Tigers envisioned, but with younger players gaining varsity experience and veterans like Chatman leading the way, DeKalb still has plenty of season left to prove last year’s breakthrough was only the beginning.