By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

UNION CITY — The Lady Blackhawks will be flying into this season with a young roster. After having three freshmen on last year’s team, Mississinawa Valley will have eight freshmen on the team this year.

Head coach Max Guillozet said the team will rely on the freshmen quite a bit this season. It will be a great learning experience for the younger players.

“A big majority of these girls are coming from junior high softball and are getting thrown into a varsity setting,” Guillozet said. “It’s going to be a work in progress.”

The team does have some experience returning. They have two seniors in Gabby Elizondo and Jocelyn Hoggatt back along with three juniors and two sophomores on the team. Elizondo and Hoggatt both hit over a .300 average last season.

Guillozet said the upperclassmen will be a big help to the freshmen as they were in a similar situation as them during their freshmen season. While Mississinawa Valley does have more players on the team this year than last year, they don’t have enough for a junior varsity team.

The more experienced players understand the challenges the freshmen will face this season.

“The girls that are juniors and seniors as well as the sophomores, they were in that same setting as freshmen. They have the varsity experience, they’ve been starters since they were freshmen coming in. We’re going to rely on them to try and pull things along,” Guillozet said.

The team last year finished 5-14 with a 2-9 record. Guillozet said even with a lack of experience, there is still talent on the team.

The Lady Blackhawks will have a tough schedule ahead of them. Outside of having a tough WOAC schedule, Guillozet said they do have tough opponents in the out of conference schedule against teams like St. Henry and Ft. Recovery.

Going up against tough teams day in and day out will help the Lady Blackhawks grow and learn more about themselves. Guillozet said he is still figuring out the best positions for his team.

It will take time for the team to hit their stride this season. Each game will bring a new opportunity for the team to learn and get more comfortable with the varsity level.

The team is looking forward to getting the season started. Guillozet said the team is very energetic and excited to play this year. The outlook of the team might not be a favorable one, but that could change in the next few years if the team keeps returning players.

“You look at it as ‘I have eight or nine freshmen.’ But in three years, you’re now looking at it saying ‘I got eight or nine seniors that have three or four years of varsity experience.’,” Guillozet said.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]