Lady Trojans are all about improvement for softball season

MANSON - Youth can be good and bad to have as characteristic of your team. 

The Manson girls softball team is hoping that they are on the good side of that conundrum as they have only eight returning players and nine girls who haven’t played softball before this year. 

“We have been spending a lot of time working on the fundamentals but I have already seen some improvement and growth from the nine girls who haven’t played before,” head coach Kendra Farnsworth said. “The team is working well as a whole with the veterans helping out and assisting the rookies.” 

That assistance has been crucial as the girls have been limited in their time outside on the field. 

“We have only been outside twice, and even then we were on a soccer field, so the first time the girls will see an actual dirt field is in our first double header at Lake Roosevelt,” coach Farnsworth admitted. “There are only so many drills you can run in a gym so we are looking forward to the weather cooperating so we can get outside more on a permanent basis.” 

In their first two games on Saturday, the Trojans lost both on a cold and windy Saturday by a combined score of 50-2.

“All in all, today was definitely a learning experience for the girls,” coach Farnsworth said in her game report. “The girls played hard and are looking forward to their next game.” 

Outside of their youth, the main struggle for the Trojans this season will surround their pitching. Given that they have no true aces, Manson will be forced to plug in pitchers throughout the season. 

“Out of 17 girls, none of them have ever pitched before, so we are trying to train a handful of pitchers to pitch,” coach Farnsworth stated. “Obviously pitching is a huge part of softball, but trying to train girls that have never done it before is a challenge. There are a couple of girls that are starting to look pretty good though so I’m sure that they will only improve as the season continues.” 

Overall, Farnsworth is just excited for the season to start and to watch her Lady Trojans compete and get better as the season moves along.

The Lady Trojans will head up to Oroville for their next two games on Saturday, March 25. First pitch in the first game is scheduled for 11 p.m. and 1 p.m. in the second game. 

Zach Johnson can be reached at lcmeditor@gmail.com or (509) 682-2213