Lady Hawks softball returns good crop of starters

There are so many things that come together to make a good softball team. This year’s Thompson Falls Lady Hawks crew appears to have all the bases covered as they prepare to embark on the 2023 high school softball season next Tuesday, March 28 with a pair of home games, including their opener versus Sanders County rival Plains.

Ask any softball coach, or coach of any other sport for that matter, and they will tell you offense, defense and experience rank very high on the prospects for success chart.

That being the case, head coach Jared Koskela and the Lady Hawks have the elements in place for a good run this year.

“We have seven players who can pitch on the roster out of 22 total players”, Koskela said. “And we have most of our starters returning from last year’s team. They are smart and their IQ on and off the field is high”.

While most teams are fortunate to have two good pitchers on a roster, Koskela’s Lady Hawks have a wealth of hurlers and he hopes to be able to come up with flexible pitching to keep opposition hitters off guard.

“We want to rotate our pitchers, to develop a change of pace (depending on the situation),” he said.

And while last year’s underclassmen dominated team had several good hitters, overall power is one of the things Koskela is hoping to improve upon this year.

“We need power at the plate,” he said. “We want to create more extra base hits this year and find unique ways to get players on base and then advance them to create more runs”.

Having lost only one senior via graduation from last year’s team, Abbie Lane, T Falls is counting on the extra year of experience to go a long way this season.

Koskela said the top returnees from last year’s team include senior Alivia McCormick, a team captain who made the 7B conference all-star second team last year. McCormick has committed to Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Oregon on a softball scholarship for next year.

Another productive senior expect to be a positive factor in the lineup is senior Cheyla Irvine, who was also a second team all-conference selection last season, as well as a team captain.

Also back is junior standout MacKenzie Robinson, and sophomore Sarah Koskela, who was the third Lady Hawk selected to last year’s 7B all-conference second team.

The Hawks will also be counting on another infusion of promising young talent for the 2023 season to give the team depth.

“We brought up several eighth graders who have a ton of talent and experience to add to this year’s team,” Koskela said. “I also expect to use two or three freshmen in varsity games on a consistent basis.

Following the season opener against Plains, Thompson Falls will play a second home game, Thursday, March 30 against Loyola of Missoula.