Fall 2019 Preview: Nevada Softball

nevada-lundine

By Chris Parker

Danny Penn takes over as the head coach of Nevada softball this year. Penn, who is also Nevada’s head baseball coach, has been an assistant in the softball program for the past seven years.

“The similarities (between baseball and softball) are what initially got me into the sport, but I love the subtle differences,” Penn said. “Everything is compacted, so the pace is much faster. A team can overwhelm their opponent with a dominant pitcher, and pitch counts aren’t an issue. Slap hitting definitely adds a different dynamic offensively as well as forcing different defensive alignments.”

Nevada returns three all-conference players from last year’s team that won the Class 3 District 13 championship and finished 16-15 overall.

Leading that group is senior Hailee Lundine. Lundine earned First-Team All-Big 8 honors last year as an outfielder. This year, Lundine will be the team’s primary catcher in addition to doing some pitching.

“She (Lundine) has a high softball IQ and loves to be in the middle of everything,” Penn said.

One of the primary pitchers for Nevada will be senior Maggie Leisure. Leisure earned second-team all-conference honors as an infielder last year.

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“Maggie has thrown varsity innings each of her previous three years and has been our No. 1 the past two seasons. She doesn’t necessarily overpower teams, but she changes speeds very well and can hit all her spots,” Penn said.

Juniors Abby Harder and Maleigha Hinton along with freshmen Kirstin Buck and Cailyn Hollands are four more players that could see time pitching.

Tylin Heathman is the final returning all-conference selection. She earned Second-Team All-Big 8 honors as an infielder last year. The junior will be the shortstop this season.

“(Heathman) has played shortstop the past two years and continues to get better. I honestly think she’s one of the top defensive shortstops in our area. She’s a talented player who continues to work extremely hard to improve her craft,” Penn said.

Sophomore Claire Pritchett will be tabbed with replacing three-year starter Emily Johnson at first base.

Leisure, Harder, Buck and Hinton along with sophomores Bailey Ast and Jerica Collins are all candidates to see time at second and third base.

In the outfield, Ast and senior Madison Hyder will provide some stability. Hyder has played outfield the past three seasons. Hinton and sophomore Taylynn Culbertson are two candidates to round out the outfield.

Experience will be a strength for Nevada softball this year.

“I think that our returning experience will be a huge asset for us this season. Even though we graduated four players who played an extensive amount, a lot of our upperclassmen have been playing at the varsity level for at least two seasons. A lot of those girls have experienced tough times on the field as well as successes. Two of our returning sophomores played a lot as freshmen last year. I’m confident that our experience will help us in our times of adversity this season. We won our district last season, but I think the girls are hungry to build upon that success this season,” Penn said.

Penn has added a link to Nevada’s past glory to the coaching staff in Mackenzie (Pritchett) Wolfe who will be an assistant this year. She was a part of the 2010 state championship team.

Nevada opens the season on Sept. 3 at home against Cassville, as the Lady Tigers look to win another district title.

“I expect us to be a solid team this year. Our upperclassmen are going to be great team leaders and keep us on track throughout the season,” Penn said. “I really think we should be competitive in every game we play and hope we are able to compete for both a conference and district championship.”

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