The Lady Tigers’ softball team begins their 2023-24 campaign on Saturday at the Sue Siekman Classic. The tournament is taking place at Southwestern (Hanover) at 10 a.m.

Crothersville Head Coach Bryant Hughes is beginning his first season at the helm of the Tiger softball program.

“We’re hoping to make some routine plays, get some outs and looking to compete,” Hughes said. “I’ve got six or seven girls who are playing for the first time, who haven’t gotten much experience in high school softball.”

“We’re just hoping to put some innings together on offense and making routine plays and working on our general fundamentals of the game,” Hughes added.

Crothersville will play multiple games in the Sue Siekman Classic. Hughes mentioned that the team is guaranteed to play two contests, but could play more if the Tigers pick up a win in the single elimination tournament, following Round Robin play.

The Tigers have no seniors, and one upperclassmen in Grace Walker who’s a junior. The rest of the team is filled with sophomores and freshman who are looking to make an impact.

Zoey Prince, Haley Burton, Dacie Hughes, Haley Roberts and Hayden Pilgrim are the sophomores on this years’ team. Laura Redifer, Kinsey Martin, Alexis Caudill, Bailey Tatlock and Meredith Henry are some of the new kids on the team as freshman.

Hughes spoke on the first month of practice with the team.

“We’ve got 11-12 girls who are committed to getting better,” he said. “Practice has went pretty well, with girls showing up and willing to compete and willing to learn the game of softball. That’s all I can ask for and I’m hoping we can continue to get better throughout the season.”

After the tournament, Crothersville travels to Lanesville on April 10th, before traveling to Southwestern (Shelby) on April 15th. Both of these games will take place at 5:30 p.m.

Hughes was asked about some of his ‘main goals’ for the 2023-24 season. He mentioned that he was building for the future.

“We’re looking to build for next season, with no seniors this year and a lot of young players,” Hughes said. “I truly feel like a year of experience would help this team a lot. We’re just working and building for the future and this is apart of that process.”

Crothersville will look to kick off their season with a victory on Saturday morning at Southwestern (Hanover) High School.