Coming off a state championship win, the Cardinals softball team knows there are lofty expectations ahead for them this year.
“It set the bar very high for us,” senior Addison Woods said. “But I think that it also gives us something that we want to achieve and something we strive to do again this year.”
The Cardinals defeated Bishop Miege 4-2 in the championship game last season to secure the team’s first ever championship win.
The team has been motivated this offseason to get back to the top, but head coach Bill Finucane said the team needs to focus on the season ahead.
“That’s neat as can be, but we also have to remember that that was last year,” Finucane said about the state championship win. “This year, it’s a whole different thing. There’s going to be teams trying to give us everything that they have to knock us off that pedestal. So we need to be prepared for that.”
The biggest challenge for the team this season will be filling the shoes the seniors of the class of 2022 left behind. The team has only two seniors this year: Woods and Sarah Watts.
Woods, however, said she is confident the girls who are returning will be able to step up and help the team compete this year.
“I think that a lot of the girls that we had on the team last year have learned a lot since last year, and so they will be able to fill those roles pretty easily,” Woods said. “And then we have a few new ones that came up this year from JV that are pretty good too, and they’ll be able to help fill those places.”
Sophomore Reese Pattison said she is excited about this season because she thinks this year’s team is a complete unit.
“We have a lot of good bats on this team,” she said. “I think our offense is going to be a big part of our game this year and how we play. And we still have a really good defense behind us even though we lost a lot of good talent, but I’m confident.”
Pattison was named to the All-Frontier League 1st Team after last season. She said she wants to continue to build off that accomplishment.
“I just want to keep chasing goals for myself and for my team,” Pattison said.
Woods said her main goal heading into her senior season was to just have fun and enjoy the ride.
“It came up pretty fast because my freshman year we didn’t have softball because COVID kind of ended that,” Woods said of her senior season. “But softball has been a very big thing in my life and having this be my last year of school ball is pretty stressful, but exciting at the same time.”
Finucane said he is excited to see the team actually get back on the field and play ball against other teams to really see how much they have improved.
The team starts the season on the road with a double header against Bonner Springs Tuesday. The team’s home opener is a double header against De Soto starting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected].
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