0
0
While NS prepares for their first game they keep one eye on the future and another on the past so that they can learn from their mistakes last season.
Last year the Lady Hawks took fourth in region and made it to state. State is a double elimination tournament and they lost both of their games to Union and Grantsville.
“We were talented enough to go farther but we didn’t,” said coach Tyler Bailey. The team lost four seniors and a lot of experience.”They were good in everything” said Bailey. ”They could hit and field really well.” Although losing them will hurt the team Bailey knows that the younger girls will step up and play well.
“Its high school, you’re always losing people but I have complete confidence in all of the younger girls,” said Bailey. Last year the Lady Hawks struggled offensively through the whole season and this year NS is looking to solve that problem.
“We’ve done more hitting drills then we’ve ever done before,” said Bailey. “It’s just something you have to practice.” But hitting isn’t the only thing the team wants to work on.
“We need to work on playing all 7 innings,” said Mariah Hafen. “We play 2-3 innings and then we float through the rest of them.” Although NS struggles when they’re up to bat they dominate at the pitching mound.
“Our pitching is going to be a huge strength during the season,” said Bailey. We have three girls returning from last year that pitched multiple varsity games and have a lot of experience.
The Lady Hawks are excited to start their preseason.
“We’ve got a mix of good teams and weaker teams so we’ll be tested, but we’ll also have some games that we can win,” said Bailey.
NS had their first tournament in St. George last Saturday where they played three games. They beat Desert Hills 7-1 but lost to Manti 3-9 and Tooele 2-18. Overall the team played really well but they did struggle at times. “We did good but we couldn’t hit or get on base,” said Ryann Tapia. Their first home game was against Delta on March 15th where they won 18-3. Overall Tapia felt good about their performance. As the team gets ready for their next game they’re focus is team unity. “We need to focus on cheering for our team and encouraging each other to always keep our heads up.”
NS has a home game against Carbon on March 22.
