It is time for Yuma High School softball to hit the field for the first time since 2021
The student/athletes will be wearing Yuma red when they take the field Friday and Saturday at the Platte Valley Tournament.
“I think the huge thing over the summer is it got the program built back up, and giving the girls the sense of having their own team,” coach Mikayla Mann said. “They’re just cohesive and together.”
The numbers are staying steady at 15 that are out for softball.
“It’s a brand new program, so a lot of them are figuring out what they want to do,” the coach said.
The Outlaws will play Burlington, Florence, Greeley Central and Valley. All the games will be played at Valley High School in Gilcrest.
They opened with a tough 9-8 loss to Burlington, squandering a 5-0 lead in the third. They play Florence at 5 p.m.
Mann said London King, Teagan Galles and Quinn Mekelburg have experience as pitchers, and Addie Noble recently has decided to give it a try.
Autumn Maggard will be at catcher, Daphani Allen at third base, Sadie Mosenteen at short stop, Galles at second when not pitching and Noble at first. Tehya McDonald will be at center field and back up at catcher, Mann said she had a lot of utility players able to play different positions, such as Maizy Brunk in the outfield and second, Noble and King being able to play both first and third, Amaya Rascon and Sophia Newbury playing outfield positions, Mekelburg playing third and other positions, Layla Glanz in the outfield and infield, Keylen Quezada in the outfield, as well as Kennya Amaya and Ayme Escobar.
Mann provided a glimpse into the potential competitiveness of the new Outlaws, sharing they played Holyoke’s high school team twice over the summer, barely losing the first game and winning the second.
“If the girls focus, we can be pretty darn good,” she said. “We have a lot of speed, so we’re going to be running a lot.”