Despite the wintry type weather received this week, the spring sports season is upon us and that means the Lennox High School softball team is preparing for their second year of being a sanctioned sport.
Under the direction of Shawn Grengs, the Orioles gear up for up for what promises to be a thrilling season. Last year, the Orioles advanced to the State Tournament and took eighth in the first ever sanctioned State A Tournament. With a roster brimming with talent and potential, the team is poised to get back to the State Tournament.
“As team making it back to state is something we’ve already talked about as a team,” said Grengs. “We’re a couple weeks into practices and I see a lot of potential in accomplishing both goals.”
Grengs would love to see every athlete have a positive experience, regardless of innings played and believes this can be accomplished with efficient task-oriented practices.
“I understand and would expect that everyone wants to play. No other team is going to pull up to the field on a bus and have 35 plus athletes walk out of it like Lennox will,” said Grengs. Grengs acknowledges this can be a challenge, satisfying the athletes hunger to play, getting into game situations and sufficient practice reps as well as satisfying the spectators who come watch their family and friends play the sport.
Managing the team’s large roster will come with some adversity but the number of athletes interested in the sport is also something Grengs is extremely proud.
Highlighting key players expected to shine this season, Grengs pointed out Ahleeya Nicola, a second-team All-State player, as one to watch.
“In my opinion, she is the best player in the state,” Grengs said. Additionally, Grengs praised Macy Wallenstein, Danica Van Ningen, and a host of talented newcomers who are poised to make their mark on the team including Taylor Ragle, Layci Eli, Hailey Seelen, Teagen Sturm, Hayley Hahn, Jersey Zahn and Peyten Wright.
“I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen on the defensive side of the ball. This wasn’t a strength of ours last year and it really showed at the state tournament against the best teams in the state,” said Grengs. “We’re two deep in the infield, what this means is I have two solid options at every position. Our Outfield has some athletes that can really get after it so I’m excited to watch them fly around out there. Defensively everything starts with pitching and catching. We have a lot of new faces in the pitching room. After our first pitching practice I was really impressed with the velocity and moment from Lacy Eli and Hayley Hahn and the younger athletes have sound mechanics and accuracy. Macy caught every Varsity pitch last year. I confident her and Jersey Zahn will be solid behind the plate. “
Grengs looks for the Dak12 teams to once again be strong with all eight-state qualifying teams coming out of the DAK12 area last season.
“All of them were on our regular season scheduled last year and are again this year,” said Grengs. “All of those games [Dell Rapids, Madison, Tea, Dakota Valley, Elk Point Jefferson, West Central, and Beresford] will be critical for tournament seeding.”
Among the games to watch, Grengs highlighted matchups against Beresford, a team with whom Lennox shares a competitive history.
“We spilt with Beresford in the regular season last year then they did get the best of us the final day of state,” said Grengs. “I’ve had the pleasure of training the Beresford athletes in the past so it’s always fun for me personally seeing how they’ve grown in the sport also.”
Grengs offered a glimpse into the team’s season outlook, emphasizing values of sportsmanship, teamwork, and attention to detail.
“Obtaining our goals of everyone having a positive experience and returning to the state tournament are both obtainable. The team will be focused on sportsmanship, teamwork and attention to detail in everything we do on and off the field,” said Grengs. “We’re going to compete in every contest despite still being a very young team…I can assure everyone this team is going to be fun to watch.”
As the season unfolds, fans can expect exciting performances and fierce competition from the LHS softball team. The team was scheduled to travel to Elk Point Jefferson this Thursday, March 28 for the season opener, dependent on field conditions. They were to be at home on Friday, March 29 at 5 p.m. against Tri-Valley. They were to be at home again on Monday, Apr. 1 against Canton.
Grengs is assisted this season by Clint Johnson.
The complete roster includes: Ahleeya Nicola, Layci Eli, Hailey Seelen, Taylor Ragle, Teagen Sturm, Aleeah Oltmanns, Macy Wallenstein, Hayley Hahn, Jersey Zahn, Danica Van Ningen, Abbie Wildeboer, Peyten Wright, Rebeka Schroeder, Maggie Jacobson, Chambree Woessner, Brooklyn Buehner, Sierra Wesseling, Emma Seykora, Brooklyn Seelen, Alexandra Denning, Sam Bond, Madyson Dykstra, Jaylah Jilderda, Kaylynn Mackey, Jocelyn Thoms, McKenzie Mattson, Harper Walsh, Gracie Wood, Sophia Onnen, Zada Storm, Joslynn Hanisch, Lauren Anacker, Karissa Iken, Izzy Gerdes, and Stella Meyer.