SEASON PREVIEW: Fallon softball

Head coach and number of years in position: Kasey Chu, two

Assistant coaches: Dawn Clark and Jenny Rechel

Players, position and number of years of experience with the program: Rylee Buckmaster, senior, third base, four; Lorynn Fagg, senior, catcher and second, four; Shelbi Schultz, senior, outfield and pitcher, four; Aspen Mori, junior, shortstop, two; Jhada Ramsey, junior, outfield and pitcher; one; Bella Jones, junior, outfield, one; Ashley Agaman, junior, pitcher, two; Karlee Hitchcock, junior, catcher and outfield; one; Makenzee Moretto, junior, utility, one; Savana Manha, sophomore, first base, one; Mackenzie Fish, sophomore, catcher and outfield, one; Shaylee Fagg, sophomore, infield, one; Gaby Winkler, sophomore, pitcher, one

Previous season’s record: 27-9 (19-5)

Previous season’s postseason results: state champions

Players to watch out for: We have a lot of young talent and we are very excited for our sophomores to step up and play large roles on the team. Savana Manha has so much talent and athletic ability. We have her playing first base for the first time but I have a lot of confidence in her and she has a great bat. Ashley Agaman has been working very hard on her pitching and is looking to lead the team on the mound. Lorynn Fagg has grown tremendously as a player and individual and is an amazing leader.

What are your team’s goals for the season?: Our goal as a team is to defend our state championship from last year along with developing individually.

Who are your leaders/captains and what do you expect from them?: Our captains are Lorynn Fagg, Ryle Buckmaster and Bella Jones. I expect a lot from out captains. I expect them to be leaders on and off the field. They know they are held to that high standard and I know that all three of them are more than capable of doing this. With such a young team and so many girls who haven’t played together, I feel that the captains play an even bigger role of getting them to come together as one unit and reach our goal.

What are the team’s strengths?: We have more athletic ability then I have seen in previous seasons. The girls are very eager to get there and show everyone what they have been working so hard at. We have a lot of girls who haven’t played at this level so they are not sure what to expect from our opponents, which in a way is good because we played real tight in some big games last year and it hurt us.

What are areas to work on?: We need to work on becoming one team. We have a lot of talent but they just need to learn everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. They need to learn where they can pick each other up. I know that this will happen as the season goes along. I have seen a big difference in the last few weeks.

How does the league look and which teams will be tough to beat?: The league will be competitive again. Lowry and Fernley will be our biggest competition. They have a lot of girls returning this year.

What does Fallon need to do to make the playoffs, including state?: Consistency. We need to show this throughout each game of the season. We need to be mentally tough as well. A lot of the things that hurt us are mental errors and not being mentally tough in certain situations.