Hoping season starts soon, Highland softball club poised for more success in 2020

Three seniors have moved on from the Highland softball team including standout shortstop Lilly Garbett, now playing at Wabash Valley College.

But the cupboard is far from bare for Highland as the Lady Bulldogs have experienced hands back in seniors Nicole Knackstedt, Taylor Fleming, Reagan Krask, Carlie Mettler, and Maddie Adolph.

“Those are the seniors we will build the team around,” Highland coach Glen Nicholls said.

Knackstedt will anchor the outfield playing in centerfield. She hit .324 last season as a junior and covered a lot of ground defensively for HHS.

“She’s started out there the last couple of seasons and she’s a solid ballplayer out there in centerfield,” Nicholls said.

Fleming, a three-year starter, will be back at second base.

“Taylor is an extremely athletic kid and you can pretty much plug her in anywhere in the infield and she’ll do a great job,” Nicholls said. “She’s a really versatile kid.”

Krask, who came on late last season to start as a junior, will be in the outfield this spring.

“Reagan has proven to be a valuable asset on the squad and she’s really proven herself in practice,” Nicholls said.

Mettler, a role player last season is on track to start at third base.

“The kid is looking really solid and there’s great chance she’s gonna be a starter at third base,” Nicholls said.

Junior infielder Sidney Parkerson will also be expected to contribute. Parkerson was solid at the plate last year, hitting .349.

At the catcher’s spot, junior Jordyn Fields is expected to see plenty of time there and will likely share time with sophomore Gracy Levin.

In the outfield, junior Ashlynn Korte and sophomore Emma Strubinger are challenging for playing time in left and right field.

“What I like about a bunch of these outfielders is they are left-handed kids and they all have great speed,” Nicholls said. “They can really motor.”

Pitching will be the strong suit of this Lady Bulldog group. Sophomore ace Sam Miener will lead the way in the circle for HHS. Miener went 7-9 in 2019 with a 2.07 ERA with 116 strikeouts and just 39 walks.

“I had some high school coaches over the summer ask me what year Sam was and when I told them she was going to be a sophomore, they cringed at the thought of facing her next season,” Nicholls joked.

Miener will be joined in the circle by sophomore pitcher Delaina Sigman.

Highland hoping for strong MVC finish, simply to play season

Nicholls said he feels his club will be solid enough to make a push for the upper echelon of the Mississippi Valley Conference standings this spring.

“I feel pretty good about our infield, outfield, and I think we will be solid in the circle,” Nicholls said. “We think we will have a decent shot at challenging for the conference (title),” Nicholls said.

Now the Lady Bulldogs have to wait to see what happens with the start of the season. Highland, like all other Illinois schools, is waiting to see if the season starts in early April after the recent shutdown of the schools effective March 17 ordered by Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker on March 13.

“The meeting (March 13) with the girls telling them we were done was really tough,” Nicholls said. “When we told them, you could hear a pin drop in that room. Right now that season’s postponed and that’s kind of where we’re at at this point and we’re hoping that it’s not going to be worse than a postponement (of the season).”

The school shutdown is expected to last until at least March 30 at this point in time.