Coming off an 8-14-1 campaign and third place finish in District 6-4A, Brownwood softball head coach Jessica Lynn is hopeful the return of most of last season’s roster results in greater success in 2022.
The Lady Lions’ softball season begins at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday as they host Jim Ned.
“We only lost three starters from last year,” said Lady Lions head coach Jessica Lynn. “Going into the season we have a lot of varsity experience, so I want us to build on that and continue to improve our skills. We had some ups and downs last year and we’ve talked about it with the girls. They’re working hard, we’re seeing some improvement. The team chemistry should be good because we have so many back.”
Among the key returnees are pitcher Annie-Klein Allgood, shortstop Mia Lopez and third baseman Cecilia Rodriguez.
“Annie is a four-year starter on varsity, and this is her third year as our pitcher,” Lynn said. “She’s also our 3-hole hitter and led off for a few games. Mia was coming off an ACL surgery last year, so I’m looking for her to good things. She’s going to be comfortable again out there not having to play with a brace. Cecilia had a solid year for us last year at third base offensively and defensively, looking for to have a good year. She’s been looking strong defensively so far in scrimmages.”
Additions to the varsity roster this year include right fielder Marian Soto, returning from an ACL surgery of her own, and catcher Chloe Walls and second baseman Jeniffer Romero – both freshmen.
“We have two freshmen at catcher and second base, Chloe Walls and Jeniffer Romero, that I’m hoping, and thinking will make big impacts,” Lynn said. “Marian Soto is a senior that last year as a junior tore her ACL and she’s filling the other spot where we lost a senior.”
Through the preseason scrimmages, Lynn stated, “We may not be where we want it to be, but as long as we’re seeing improvement and we’re peaking at the right time of the season, as coaches and as a team we should be pleased with our progression every time we step out on the field.”
Lynn added that the biggest key to the Lady Lions turning around their fortunes in 2022 will be a more consistent performance on the field.
“One of our biggest weaknesses last year was just consistency,” Lynn said. “We would be up and down; we couldn’t consistently play at a high level. With most of the girls back from last year’s team, I’m looking for us to have more consistency. Last year heading into the season, with 2020 the year before, you could really tell that hurt, not having a full season. I feel like this year we’ll be further along earlier in the season.”
Following the opener against Jim Ned, the Lady Lions will square off against Anson, Dublin, San Angelo Central, Breckenridge, Alvarado, and Abilene Cooper in pre-district action, as well as take part in the Abilene and Graham tournaments.
“What we’re looking for is improvement every time we step out on the field,” Lynn said of the early season goals. “We want to be getting better at all of our skills. We want to be peaking, playing our best ball heading into the district. We may not be where we want to be in our skills and execution right now, but we don’t want to be at our best at the beginning of the season. We want to make sure we keep improving each time we’re out there and we’re peaking and hitting all cylinders heading into district. As long as we’re executing our plays and being aggressive on offense, and on defense we’re making our plays and we’re supposed to be, that’s what we’re looking for. If we’re doing that, we’re going to be successful on the field and it will turn into wins.”
The Lady Lions will again battle Glen Rose, Stephenville, Lampasas and Gatesville in hopes of earning the District 6-4A championship.
“As usual it’s going to be competitive,” Lynn said. “Every year everybody’s pretty much on the same level. Last year Glen Rose was a little above everybody. I don’t know that a lot of us lost a lot of players. All these teams usually have strong players so I’m looking forward to it being competitive. We play some tough pre-district teams so I think they should get us ready for that.”
Regarding what it will take for the Lady Lions to make the most of their talent, Lynn said, “the potential has to play out, and we have some good players. If they can stay out of their heads and have confidence in their abilities, I think we can be pretty good. I think we can put together a really good run, sometimes they get in their heads and lose confidence. We have you out there for a reason, we believe in you as coaches, and you’ve got to as well. We have to stay strong mentally, we saw that let down a little some last year and believe we’re going to have a good season this year.”
Brownwood Lady Lions Varsity Softball Schedule
| Feb. 15 | Jim Ned | 4:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 18 | at Anson | 5 p.m. |
| Feb. 22 | Dublin | 4:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 24-26 | at Abilene tournament | TBA |
| March 1 | at San Angelo Central | 6:30 p.m. |
| March 4 | Breckenridge | 4:30 p.m. |
| March 10-12 | at Graham tournament | TBA |
| March 16 | Alvarado | 6:30 p.m. |
| March 18 | Abilene Cooper | 6:30 p.m. |
| March 22 | Glen Rose* | 6:30 p.m. |
| March 25 | at Lampasas* | 6:30 p.m. |
| March 29 | Gatesville* | 6:30 p.m. |
| April 1 | BYE | |
| April 5 | at Stephenville* | 6:30 p.m. |
| April 8 | at Glen Rose* | 6:30 p.m. |
| April 12 | Lampasas* | 6:30 p.m. |
| April 14 | at Gatesville* | 6:30 p.m. |
| April 19 | BYE | |
| April 22 | Stephenville* | 6:30 p.m. |
| * District 6-4A Game |