With their sights set on another conference title, softball looks to bounce back from last years regional championship loss to Whitney Young and continue their domination of the CSL South led by first year head coach Amy Gonzales.

Having graduated a majority of the starting infeld and five total starters from last year, Gonzales looks to get the multitude of first year varsity players caught up.

“We’re young, we’ve got freshman, a few sophomores and even a few juniors who haven’t yet played varsity, so it’s going to be a new experience for them,” Gonzales explained. “We lost kids who played varsity for four years or three years last year, so now it’s a little bit about getting the new kids up to speed with everyone else.”

However, with veteran leadership coming from junior Molly Chambers, who is committed to play at Princeton, and senior Lucy Hart, who is playing at Kalamazoo next year, the team looks poised to make a comeback.

“Already, I see a lot of effort and enthusiasm in the new players,” Hart said. “We’ll have a lot of first year varsity players, so it’ll take a lot of practice and hard work to achieve our goals.”

“Our main goal is to be competitive,” Chambers explained. “We want to win another conference title and make a run in the state tournament this year.”

Having these goals in mind, the team trained all throughout the offseason to give themselves the best chance of making them a reality.

“We had weight room workouts starting after Thanksgiving break and then started open gyms after winter break,” Hart said. “A lot of people who were interested in softball came to these opportunities which was really great. Players were able to get reps in and get ready for the season.”

These offseason workouts, which were orchestrated by Gonzales, allowed players to get a feel for what she is like as a coach.

“We’re really excited to play for coach Gonzales,” Chambers said. “She’s been with the program for awhile and has had success as a head coach at the high school level. Coach Gonzales brings leadership, has a strong softball IQ, and pushes us to get better.”

Gonzales, who has been with the program as an assistant coach for the last five years, is excited to continue sharing her experiences and expertise with her players.

“I’m hoping for kids that are in the program from the beginning of the season to the end,  that they have improved,” Gonzales said. “Freshman through whatever level they’re on and that they’ve really learned how to play the game.”

The Kits’ play at Loyola Academy on Tuesday, March 26 at 4:30 p.m. for their third game of the season.