Even though there are only three seniors and three juniors on the Seymour softball roster this spring, Coach Emily Bobb says experience will be one of the Lady Owls’ strong points.

The three senior veterans are outfielder Addyson Coomer, infielder Avery Stewart and catcher Alexa Dannettelle.

“Addyson started in centerfield last year and has a lot of experience that we are happy she is bringing back,” Bobb said. “Avery started either at first base or second base. We are looking for leadership from her this year.

“Alexa will be behind the plate for us some. She’s been working really hard on blocking and that leadership component behind the plate.”

Juniors are Abby Followell, Phoebe Underwood and Claire Urbanski.

“The juniors have kind of had to grow up quick,” Bobb said. “They’ve spent a lot of time on varsity. Abby and Phoebe have been varsity starters the past couple of years. Phoebe sees a lot of time on the mound. Abby sees a lot of time in the infield and they’re both big bats.”

Urbanski is an outfielder.

Followell was named the Owls’ offensive player of the year and was named to the Hoosier Hills all-conference first team in 2023. She batted .398 and had 33 hits, scored 14 runs with one RBI and 11 doubles and three home runs.

Underwood also was all-conference and was the Owls’ defensive player of the year. She pitched in 15 games, threw 54 innings with 33 strike outs and a 2.18 ERA with a record of 4-3.

There are 13 sophomores and five freshmen are listed on the varsity.

“I think I’m going to need a lot of the sophomores,” Bobb said. “They all have potential at the plate. Mackenzie (Bryson), Delaney (Warren) and Taylor (Stuckwisch) all have experience from last year”

Bryson caught some varsity games, Warren played in leftfield and Stuckwisch pitched some.

Underwood, Stuckwisch and sophomore Zoe Williams will share the pitching.

“Their spin will play a factor on how the other teams hit the ball this year,” Bobb said. “They all have a handful of pitches that we can mix up during counts.”

Bobb also expects freshman EmmaKae Sweet to contribute offensively.

“She has had some really productive at bats in our summer scrimmages and our live scrimmages so we’re looking forward to adding her bat to the lineup as well.”

Bobb said the infield defense is going to have to be a strong point.

“We’re going to have to be just because our pitching staff is not as deep as we would like it to be, so we definitely need to make the routine plays, and have our pitchers’ backs,” the coach said.

She said the outfielders have been working on the fundamentals. “We’ve been working really hard on making sure we hit our cutoffs just to be able to eliminate extra bases and ensure the ball needs up where it needs to be.”

There were only two seniors on the roster last spring, so with the large number of veterans, Bobb is hoping the Owls can double the win total (nine) from last year.

When asked about strong points, Bobb said, the experience we bring.

“We have several returners,” she said. “The time these girls have spent on the field. They’ve played together a lot. I am looking for that camaraderie and experience.

“We would definitely love to win the conference. We need a winning record. Our production at the plate has got to be better than it was last year. We did not send enough girls to the plate that hit the ball regularly, so we need to have better pitch selection, we need to have better situational hitting and just confidence at the plate.

“We implemented a new pitching machine this winter so were hopeful that it simulated more of live pitching and will help us out.”

The Owls will open their schedule at home at 5:30 p.m. today against Brown County.