A new high school softball season brings with it an inexperienced Arlington Eagles lineup.
“We have to build a whole new team, basically,” junior shortstop Britt Nielsen said Tuesday after practice. “Finding the right chemistry between players is going to be really important these first couple of weeks.”
Coach Janelle Lorsch's team finished 2022 12-13 with seven of its top nine batters graduating in May. Nielsen returns, however, after hitting at a .456 average with 15 RBIs. Senior Rylee Fuehrer is back, too, after going 4-5 in the pitching circle with 34 strikeouts.
The Eagles' Tessa Spivey and Dianna Flores return with starts in their past as well, but the rest of the roster is largely untested at the varsity level.
“It's just a new opportunity for so many people because we are such a young team and we lost so many starters,” Nielsen said.
The final push to fill spots in the lineup started Monday with the beginning of fall practices. Fuehrer said Tuesday that it had been a unique couple of days.
“It's different figuring out where people can play — what people are best at,” she said.
The experienced AHS players are willing to help their younger teammates adjust, though.
“Playing varsity can be really scary, but, coming from playing my freshman year, I just know how to help in a way,” Nielsen said.
Fuehrer plans to set the example for the Eagles' inexperienced pitchers, too.
“It's all younger girls, so they're not really experienced with that varsity circle like I am,” she said.
Even though Arlington is so young, both Nielsen and Fuehrer were able to quickly name team strengths when asked.
“We have really, really good communication right now,” Nielsen said. “Of course we're still working on it, but just some of the players we have communicate really well together.”
The players like each other, she added.
“If somebody makes a good play, everybody's hyping that person up and congratulating them,” Fuehrer noted.
Improvements will be necessary for the Eagles to succeed, though. Before they open the season Aug. 19 at the Wayne Invitational, Fuehrer said she'd like to see her team cut down on its mistakes.
“I know you're going to make errors, but we've made a decent amount,” she explained.
In addition to its opener, the young AHS squad will show off its preseason progress 5 p.m. Aug. 18 in a instrasquad scrimmage at the RVR Bank Sports Complex.
