Slow-pitch season underway

Head coach Monty Ervin has taken the reins of the Lady ‘Dawgs slow-pitch team.

This is his first year with Lexington though he’s not new to coaching. Ervin has nearly 20 years of coaching experience which included his most recent stint at Burns Flat.

He coached fast-pitch in the fall and he’s back as the head guy for slow-pitch.

Ervin is confident that his girls will be competitive.

“We’ve had three scrimmages and we’ve handled all three. If we can stay healthy, we’ll be pretty good,” he said.

He has a team that is mostly back from last year. They were knocked out of the District tournament by Calera in 2022.

Seniors who are back are Leslie Barber, Izzy Pack and Alexis Feuerborn.

Barber is returning from an injury and Ervin has her slated to pitch. Pack will once again be a mainstay in the outfield.

Juniors on the team include Kiely Givens, who will also see time in the circle, Marissa Northrup at second base, Abi Clifton and Abby Sample, both of whom will be in the outfield,

Filling out the remaining infield spots are junior Allie Holler at catcher, McKenzie Manuel at short stop and Brodie Anderson at third. Givens will man first when she’s not pitching.

Ervin is optimistic about his team thanks to their athleticism.

“We’re athletic and fast. We can chase down a lot of things  in the outfield. And we’ll be good in the infield too,” Ervin said.

He’s been pleased with their offense through the scrimmages too.

“If we can keep swinging it, we’ll be OK.”

The biggest obstacle for his team is mind set, Ervin said.

“We need to know that we can go out there and win. We have to have a winning mind set.

“Slow pitch can be a deceiving sport. One game you go out and score 20. The next you score seven. A key hit can decide the game.”

Ervin and his Lady ‘Dawgs kicked off their schedule at Plainview on Monday. They dropped an 11-1 decision.

They had their home opener against Davis on Tuesday.

A scheduled game with AmPo for Thursday was canceled.