The ABAC Fillies softball team has stepped back onto the field, preparing for the start of this spring season. Coached again by Jennifer Martinez and Mike Reed and led by Olivia Carter, the Fillies spent their fall pre-season getting ready for success.

     Returning player, Ashley Weesner stated, "we prepared for the spring season with a lot of conditioning, early morning weights and runs, late evening practices and playing high ranked teams in the offseason so we could play at a more competitive level."

     The Fillies learned and grew from the previous season, where they started with a 0-4 record early on and suffered another eight-game losing streak. After these early setbacks, they played much stronger the rest of the season, but the hole was too deep, and the Fillies missed the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association playoffs. ABAC's final record was 17-31.

     Though the record was not a flashy one, some of the performances were. The coaches believe they can expect more from this season, due to the transfers and new talent. The girls have a strong dynamic, which is expected from sharing blood, sweat and tears.

     Weesner continued, "our strongest skills are definitely defense, we have great athletes this year, which makes the defense part easy. I am looking forward to seeing how far we make it in the conference because we have a pretty solid team this year. We have high hopes."

     The Fillies took in a handful of transfers from other colleges, including: outfielder Jamilah Johnson (Gulf Coast State College, Fla.), infielder Sutton Bridges (LaGrange College) and pitcher Josey Wessel (LaGrange College). Bridges played high school ball at Southwest Georgia Academy and Wessel was at Crisp Academy.

     At the very least, they will push the Fillies' returnees even further. The first game was Friday, Jan. 25 in Clearwater, Florida for the JUCO kickoff tournament; followed by their first home game Wednesday, Jan. 30 vs Tallahassee Community College.

     Another returning player, Shyann Dorough shares, "our goal is to make it to nationals in Salt Lake City, Utah later in the year from March 5 -10; but we have to stay focused and take it one game at a time."

     Their first home game is free for anyone who wants to come.

Created by Cheyenne Colson, Stallion Newspaper