Hawk’s Softball will be Ready to Play some Hardball this Year

                                         Coach Galloway wisdom talk after a Hawk Softball Game!

Canyon Lake’s Softball Team will be one of the first Spring Sports that will break ground like a seed this next week.

           Go Hawks!!

Last year this Hawk Crew finished the year with their the best group of hitters in their history. That would be a good starting point for what could be a good season with a T-Shirt Company being ready for a phone call for a chance in getting shirts that have a roster on the back and recognition of making Post-Season play.

“We are really focusing on the little things during practice right now, especially on the defensive side of the ball,” Head Softball Coach Hayley Galloway stated. “We are trying to get them as many touches as we can in game like situations so that they are as prepared as possible…Both physically and mentally.”

There have been seasons that has had some good hitters in the line-up but those type of players might be 5 or 6 players and then a big fall-off in batting averages. This past season had Lady Hawks with a .280 average as the lowest yet that had been a great overall batting average for a team for those first teams that had the Best Hawk Pitcher in the circle with Missy Romero.

CL’s .397 overall average last season might have had those previous Hawk’s teams going several rounds in the playoffs. Last year’s team also had 4 players with 12 or more base-on-balls.

The Lake lost just one Senior, Bailey Bryan, from last year, but that loss was a team MVP in fielding and batting. A Centerfielder that had 20 extra base hits and a .424 batting average.

                       Go Hawks!

Replacing Bryan will be a tall order and getting this team over the hump in qualifying for a play-off spot, “Something we have been harping on since August has been our defense, Coach Galloway continued. “Last season we let some games get away from us on defense, so we have spent a lot of time trying to shore things up on that side of the ball. If we hit the ball like we did last year, and make the plays when given the opportunity, this will be an exciting team to watch.”

The Circle in Softball is the most important as a player…a softball pitcher is different than baseball as the underhand fast pitch will not tire out a player as a baseball pitcher that will have pitch counts that will often times limit the number of players that can be pitched to.

“We will have some familiar faces in the circle this year (Maddy Puente and Kenzie Sayles). Both saw more innings in the circle last year than in previous seasons, so we are hoping they will be able to build off of that experience,” Coach Galloway responded.

Canyon Lake found themselves in a pretty tough district and that will be an important part of the equation for what type of success for this year’s edition.

                     Go Hawk’s!!

“I think our district to be very competitive this year,” Coach Galloway said in response to this year’s district teams. “A couple of teams made a deep runs in the playoffs. Fredericksburg appeared in the State Final last year and Boerne made a trip to the Regional Final. Although the competition will be tough, I fully expect us to compete in every game.”

Which is all that can be asked for and this year’s Softball team has a similar situation as this season’s Hawk Baseball team, in that, a loss of just one student and yet more players at the ready to make a jump for a Varsity opportunity.

“We have a large freshman class that came up from Mountain Valley,” Galloway assessed. “They have a lot of potential and we are excited to see what they do on the field this year!”

On who might be some new players that might not be a common name from previous seasons, Coach Galloway asserted the following, “There are three new faces on the varsity team this year that we think will make significant contributions! Shelby Ludwig (Senior), Jodi Glenn-Millhouse (Junior), and Riley Glenn-Millhouse (Freshman).”

                 Let’s Go Hawks

Add those newbies with a solid group of ladies from last year just might give that impetus in realizing a longer season that has a Post-Season hat.

Marley Carrizales was the first Hawk player that finished a season with a .600 batting average and in adding Maddy Puente in the circle and a potent bat (.424 ave. last season) that will be complimented with Junior Kenzie Sayles with a .395 average and when she is not in the circle will be a Hawk mainstay in the outfield.

Other players that performed admirably last season were:

                     Batting Average    Other Notes
Adriana Peaslee           .553          Plays Soccer too.
Jessie Melendez           .356          Played First Base last Year
Sara Mefford              .326          A pleasant surprise last Season
Emma Lane                 .318          Playing Basketball
Kaylee Puente             .313          Catcher the past two seasons.
Angie Rodriguez           .280          Can hit with power

Finding the right players to perform should be fun and hopefully an exciting year to watch to quote a Softball Coach.

Let’s Go Hawks!!