MSHSAA announced on Monday, Mar. 16 that they would not be cancelling spring sports due to the Coronavirus. There will be delays to the start of the season and you can read the full MSHSAA release on spring sports by clicking here. Many area schools have called off classes and extracurricular activities through at least Apr. 3 and will reassess at that time. We will continue to post our spring previews. Please note that this preview was written before delays for the spring season were announced.
By Chris Parker
Verona softball won 10 games last year after winning two combined games the two years prior. The Wildcats have a strong returning group of players but must replace two four-year letterwinners in Rita Castillo and Gwen Henson. Both players earned all-conference honors last year.
Paige Bauer returns to the circle after earning first-team all-conference honors as a sophomore. Bauer hit .313 with a .411 on-base percentage to go with 13 RBI and 17 stolen bases.
“Paige Bauer controls the tempo of our team game offensively and leads with quiet authority,” Verona head coach Cherri Nash said. “We are a young team and I look forward to see who steps up as our natural leaders.”
Yoselyn Martinez also returns after being named second-team all-conference honors as a freshman. Martinez posted a .317 batting average with a .451 on-base percentage last year.
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Seniors Marie Tarkington and Kristen Krueger return as starters. Grace Nelson also returns to start as a sophomore.
“Teamwork has been an obvious strength for Verona. We were tri-conference champions last year in the Ozark 7 conference because we work well together as a team,” Nash said. “Being fundamentally sound is the key for success on any team and we will focus on the basics of the game to be competitive. That being said, playing softball should also be fun. To be truly successful we need to be competitive and enjoy the game.”
Nash will look for her team to come together to match or exceed last season’s successful run.
“We should expect ourselves to up our games individually so our team is stronger than last year. We expect ourselves to be competitive every time we step on the field to play. As a coach I expect the players to be great teammates. If we do these things well we should expect ourselves to make a solid run for conference champions and be competitive at districts. Spring softball only has one class and is difficult for smaller schools, but hard work and high expectations can carry a team a long way,” Nash said.
