East Noble’s Varsity softball team has kicked off the season with a current record of 5-1, having played Prairie Heights, Central Noble, Warsaw, and only losing one game during a Saturday double-header against Elkhart Central.

After three days of tryouts at the beginning of March, 14 girls were placed on the varsity team who went straight into preparing themselves for a season of softball games against rivals like DeKalb, Carroll, and Homestead. One freshman, Taylor Cripe, made the cut, while four seniors, Maddie Zolman, Megan Rainey, Mackenzie Corbin, and Jordan Speaker will play on the Knight’s field for the last season. The weather this spring has kept fairly moderate, unlike the previous years, which gave the ladies the opportunity to practice outside on the field before their game streak began.

So far, the Knights have came out strong on offense. The top of the lineup, including junior Brianna Glass and sophomore Laina Combs, have been effective in getting on base to get early runs, while junior Taylor Koegler and Speaker have each had one home run. The rest of the team has come together in getting RBI’s which have allowed them to beat Prairie Heights and Warsaw by over ten runs.

As for defense, Speaker, junior Kirsten Wolf are the team’s pitchers. When used together, Speaker’s off-speed drop balls and Wolf’s fastball can strike out some of the best hitters on any team. Floater freshman Kyara French has also been utilized in the games, and has proven her effectiveness. Catching for the Knight’s is junior Kelli Brennan and junior Jami Jaquay, first base is covered by Corbin and Zolman, second by junior Madi Franks, shortstop by Glass, and third by Rainey. The outfield is ran by Koegler, Combs, and sophomores Payton Hart and Taylor Lahee.

The girls have learned from their first six games, and have been practicing to work out the kinks before playing next Monday against Garrett. With an overwhelming amount of potential on the team, East Noble Varsity Softball has a great chance of maintaining a winning record, and coming out of the season victorious. Go Knights!