Tryouts held for ’06 Lady Pioneer squad

By DALE STUBBLEFIELD / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Rachel Walker is timed during running drills by WCHS assistant softball coach Kim Wood, seated, while head coach David Upton watches her running style during tryouts last week. (Dale Stubblefield photo)

The school year may be over, but already the Lady Pioneer softball team is gearing up for their 2006 campaign. Warren County High School softball coach David Upton held open tryouts Friday and Saturday to fill his squad.

With 22 spots available, 28 girls hit the field Friday afternoon for the first day of tryouts. On the first day the girls went through a series of drills, which included base running, fielding and throwing accuracy. Pitchers and catchers stayed an extra hour as coach Upton will have several newcomers to compete for a catcher and pitching position.

“I was a little disappointed with our numbers this year,” Upton said. “In the past we have had around 35 to 40 girls out here. But the group we have out here today is a pretty solid core of players. We have six returning starters from last year and a very talented group of freshman coming in, so we’re going to be looking at moving several people around when we get into practice next season.”

On Saturday Upton went through several throwing and hitting drills to give each girl a chance to show off their skills.

“I’m very pleased with how things have gone over the last two days. Right now with our numbers I’m still looking at a rooster of 22, but that could change. There’s been a few surprises out here and like I said before I’m really excited about this freshman class. They did an excellent job at the middle school level and they know how to win. With that said they bring a lot to this program and will push some of the upper class man to work harder and that’s always a good thing.”

Upton plans on having his team picked by the middle of the week and a full list of players should be published in Friday’s edition of the Southern Standard.