The Chronicle

Salvador Galvan
Staff Writer
 
      With basketball season over and spring just around the corner, spring sports are coming and the girl’s softball team is preparing for the upcoming season.


      Head coach Susan Garcia said the team has been working hard this off-season and is ready for the season to start. The girl’s softball team is coming off a successful year last year finishing second place overall in the conference and fourth in the state.


      It wasn’t the first time the team had places in the top four in the state, in fact four out of the last five years, the team has finished second, third twice, and fourth place. This season they hope to win the conference and capture the state title, as they did in 2008.


      There is still time in the preseason for preparation and the team will be traveling to St. Louis for a preseason tournament. They will leave March 11 and will return March 14. They play a total of six games in two games.


      Sophomore Kellie Kraft said, “St. Louis should be fun. Florida was a blast and it’s always fun to be on the road with the team. It’s good bonding experience for teammates.”


      When asked if team captains had been named yet Coach Garcia said, “Captains emerge before season to see who leads the group.”


      With four returning sophomores and one new sophomore pitcher, Coach Garcia has high expectations and said with one year experience at the college level they need to step up and help newcomers to the team.


      Coach Garcia is excited for the new season to start and has talked about some of her players and their positions.


      She has three pitchers that also play other positions, including catcher. She said the pitcher-catcher match up really depends on who is pitching, since catchers call the games differently for each pitcher.


      She talked about incoming freshman Maddie Riordan, who plays second base but played short stop for Lakes High school, and described her as “an overall infielder, a contact hitter with good defense and offensive skills.”


      Monika Wedick, a freshman from Grayslake Central, is a pitcher and Coach Garcia sees good things to come from her. She also described Kelly Silver, Wedick’s teammate at Grayslake Central, as a feisty catcher and outfielder. Coach Garcia is looking forward to working with all her players and improving overall as a team


      Kraft, has a positive outlook on the upcoming season and goals this year, both on a personal level and as a team.


      Having played softball for a number of years including four years at Warren Township, Kellie plays catcher and third base. She said the team needs better communication on the field and plans on the team getting stronger and more familiar with each other. She likes the teams’ strong infield and said they need a little improvement in the outfield before the season opener March 19 against Triton College.


      This will be Kraft’s last semester at CLC, so she plans on enjoying her last season playing softball. Her goals are to have a higher batting average, commit fewer errors, and hit more homeruns than she did last year. She said her new teammates need to adapt to new situations because the level of competition in college is much different than high school.


      “Don’t give up on yourself, everyone makes mistakes so keep your spirits up, because if they’re down it will affect the team,” she said.


       She wants the team to have fun together and keep each other motivated setting a good example and sticking by it.


      Every year is a different team and she said the team gains new qualities. She said each year is a different experience and she really can’t compare them.


      With the season opener less than three weeks away, the team is excited to go to St. Louis and play together with two goals in mind: win and enjoy the experience together.