MORGANTOWN — The third year looks to be the charm for the Trinity Christian softball program.
There have been several years of growing pains for the Warriors, dating back to 2022, when the team was restarted after an absence, but head coach Colony Hopkins said things are definitely trending in the right direction for 2024.
“We have focused on development from the middle school level through the high school level,” Hopkins said. “I started out with only 10 girls, and this year we have a JV and varsity team with 20 total girls, which is huge coming from a school of our size with 105 total students. I am extremely proud and excited about the direction this program is heading.”
The team graduated just one senior from last season, and all the girls are back again with another year of experience under their belts. There are no seniors on the 2024 squad.
“We have an extremely talented group of girls that are new to our program as freshmen or transfers,” Hopkins said. “A major strength of our team is their commitment to learning and support for each other no matter the wins and losses.”
The group of juniors: Arlie Humphreys, Kaylin Kurilko, Isabella Kelley, Rylan Sharp, Emma Jenkins, Lydia Knight and Luciana Citerone have been with Hopkins from the beginning and are “near and dear” to her heart. They look to take a big step ahead this season.
“They believed in me as a coach and each of themselves as players as we resurrected the TCS softball program,” Hopkins said.
The Warriors picked up one win last year, a 16-14 slugfest victory against Geibel Catholic (Pa.), which was the first victory since the program was brought back. The goal is to notch some more in the win column in 2024.
“We are still a very young and new team,” Hopkins said. “We are inexperienced compared to other programs, so we are still prone to making mistakes physically and mentally. Gaining experience and reps will help us to grow and that is specifically why we are choosing to have a JV team as well to continue to develop and grow and to promote a positive culture.”
Sophomores on the team are Hannah Dunham, Jillian Conn, Sydney Baston and Anna Lohman, while freshmen are Hannah Titus, Marlo Flecker, Peyton Moore and Paige Hopkins.
Conn and Hopkins will be Trinity’s main two pitchers. Conn will be catching when she’s not pitching and Dunham will be the team’s main catcher.
Moore and Humphreys are defensive-minded outfielders, with all others providing depth across the field.
“Our hitting as a team improved last year and I look for that to be a strength as well,” Hopkins said. “I feel we can produce more scoring opportunities throughout the lineup.”
BY MATTHEW PEASLEE
TWEET @DomPostSports
