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Much like the baseball team, the Viking 2021 softball team will be young, and it will have even more youth than the baseball team.
Head Coach Jessie Anderson has a field of 21 players out practicing down at the Rec Park, and she’s optimistic if not realistic.
The 2021 Viking team includes only one senior, two juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen, with the reset coming from the seventh and eighth grades.
“We are very inexperienced; honestly, even the upperclassmen are very inexperienced too.,” said Coach Anderson. “We are going with what we have though, and are very grateful to be playing ball this season. It really hurt the program to have a whole season off. Everything is pretty much up in the air.”
Taking the mound for the Vikings, said Coach Anderson, will be three pitchers.
“Katie Peck will be our starting pitcher, with eighth grader Rachel Dorr and seventh grader Kallie Anderson being the backup pitchers. Our infield is set with the upperclassmen, but the outfield looks pretty young for a varsity squad. Katie Peck and Charlet Waver will be our big bats this year. Other girls we are depending on greatly are Morgan Starkey, Emmalli Myers, and Anna Helmerson.
With the season shortened by weather and COVID-19, it will be a miracle to fit all of the team’s games into the season. Coach Anderson said, “We have 16 games scheduled. There will be playoffs as usual. We’ve already had to reschedule games due to COVID-19 issues and weather, but that gives our young group a little extra time to practice. I do worry about our pitching stamina because we will have lots of three-game weeks, but we’ll just do the best we can. We have had to spend a lot of time just learning the rules of the game this year. I’m sure that will be evident when we play; it’s definitely a rebuilding year.”
“The girls have had a great attitude, though, and the older girls have really been helping the younger girls out. It’s been fun to watch that.”
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