By Chris Parker
Billings softball returns five starters from last season’s Greater Ozarks Conference championship team.
“This season I expect our team to be ready to go out and compete every day,” Billings head coach Paige Morris said. “If we want to defend our title as Greater Ozarks Conference Champions, we will have a lot to prepare, and we will need to be ready to work together with a field of multiple positions of newcomers.”
To defend that title, some new players will have to step up in the place of those who graduated.
“After graduating five varsity players, we have a lot of holes to fill,” Morris said. “Our team will have to find ways to get the job done in various different positions offensively and defensively. We will rely on several newcomers to step up and fill positions right away.”
Isabelle Laster (junior) will pitch a majority of the innings. Bailey Newell (junior) and Atley Harter (sophomore) will both see innings behind the plate.
Kyla Essick is a senior shortstop. Look for Emersyn Dixon (junior) and Atley Harter (sophomore) to also be on the infield.
Alexa Garbee (junior) will lead the outfield in center field with Harter and Dixon also candidates for time in the outfield.
Essick, Lasater, Garbee and Harter will all be leaders.
“Kyla Essick, our lone senior, will be a leader at shortstop and in our lineup as the returning player with the highest batting average,” Morris said. “We will look to Isabelle Laster to lead us in the circle with her communication and knowledge of the game, as well as to be a strong bat in our lineup. Alexa Garbee is our leader in the outfield; she does a great job communicating in center field and she was our leadoff last year. Atley Harter brings a lot of grit and energy to any position you put her in, and on the basepaths, and she will be our morale leader. It’ll be very important for us to have several players with experience around the field and in the lineup to lead a pretty young team with several newcomers.”
Billings has multi-sport athletes up and down the roster.
“The biggest strength of our team will be having a roster with several multi-sport athletes,” Morris said. “Several of our girls play multiple sports and have already seen success this year, so we will be looking to feed off of that energy going into spring season.”
Billings opens the season Mar. 24 at Southwest.
