By Mary Granath Posted March 31, 2010
This year Lowry’s varsity softball team is looking to make it to the State Championship, “I’m thinking we’ll have the team to beat,” said head coach Dustin Christean.
The team lost some key players, Lexi Gonzalez, Melissa McKinnon, and Massie Kemp, but coaches have looked to replace them with equally talented athletes.
This year the team consists of 11 players, six of whom are returning: Lynnsey Johnson, Dani Chavez, Shelby Snyder, Jenea Neu, Madison Gonzalez, Chelsea Cochrane, and Dana Pardovich. Four new players have been added to the team, Hana Etcheverry, Angie Herrera, Virginia Castillo, and Jordan Mecham.
“Hitting wise I think we’re a little stronger than we have been and that’s just due to the development of the kids. Defensively we still have some work to do, we’re not quite where we were after losing Massie and Missy and Lexi pitching,” stated Christean.
Christean knows that the team has strengths in hitting and fielding, and hopes to build on those strengths during practice.
“We’re probably the stronger hitting team than some of the other teams in the North,” stated Christean.
Lowry looks to use these strengths to defeat their biggest competition this year.
This year Lowry’s biggest rival will be Fernley. “It’s time to stick it to Fernley,” said Christean “they’ve kind of been the top in the state for the last three years.”
Another strength the Lady Bucks have been working on is leadership. The team has been experiencing excellent guidance from seniors Johnson, Chavez, and Snyder.
“Dani and Lynnsey and Shelby they seem to have everyone around them going in the right direction so far,” said Christean.
The Lady Bucks will next play at home Friday, April 9 against the Fernley Vaqueros.
