With a turnout of 12 players, first-year softball coach Alexandra Walter is working with what she has.
Fortunately for Walter, she has a motivated group of athletes in high spirits.
“I think that things are going to go really well because we have some good players on the team and the girls that just started playing this year have already improved so much and it’s only been a week,” Walter said. “It’s going to be repetition and will-power because if they want to do it, they’re going to get better.”
The Falcons won’t have enough players to field a junior varsity team this season. Newcomers and veterans will make up South Whidbey softball’s varsity squad. Led by sophomore Mackenzee Collins and junior Kacie Hanson, who both cracked the all-Cascade Conference second team in 2015, and returning starters in juniors Aria Ludtke and Leah Merrow, the Falcons will look to improve on their 10-16 overall record and quick postseason exit.
South Whidbey was eliminated from the state 1A softball state championships after losses to Seattle Christian and Connell. Thanks to a small 1A league, which includes South Whidbey, Cedar Park Christian and Sultan, the Falcons get an automatic bid to the 1A District 1 tournament.
Hanson and Collins are helping make sure the younger players are up to the task by taking them under their wing. The veterans have helped the new players gain confidence by practicing basic fundamentals of the sport, while also providing individual feedback. Though, all the feedback in the world won’t prevent the newcomers from feeling pressure when the Falcons take the field at noon Saturday, March 12 against Coupeville on the road.
“They’ll definitely be a little frazzled,” Hanson said.
Hanson anticipates defense as being a crucial component for the Falcons this season. She said consistent hitting may be one of the Falcons’ weaknesses this season. Fortunately for the Falcons, Hanson finished with a team-high .333 average in the 2015 regular season. She also recorded team-highs in RBI and runs scored.
“It takes a lot of practice to do well hitting,” Collins said. “And even still, the best hitters are 3 out of 10, 4 out of 10. We have some improving there.”
The season will take on a different meaning for Collins. Her father Tim Collins died in August after coaching the Falcons for two seasons.
“It’s definitely harder,” she said. “He’s always been the one who has pushed me the most in softball. Obviously I wish he was here. I still want to do good for him. Sometimes I’ll be pitching and thinking exactly what he’d say.”
Collins said she improved tremendously from her experience playing in the 2015 Amateur Softball Association 14A Girls’ Fast Pitch National Championship in Roanoke, Va. in July and August.
Walter said her goals for the season are to work as a team and mold the newer players. She said players will often be asked to fill positions they might not have played before prior to the season. Walter will use her experience as a former pitcher and first baseman at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Bellevue College and assistant coach at Snohomish High School to help the Falcons achieve their goals. This is her first shot at running a high school team, and she’s ready to take on the challenge of an inexperienced squad at South Whidbey.
“My ultimate goal was to become a varsity fastpitch coach,” Walter said. “It feels absolutely amazing. This is my dream come true.”
