LAKELAND, Fla.—Southeastern will look to get back to its winning ways in softball during the 2020 season as
Kayla Watkins begins her first season with the Fire.
For the first time in program history, SEU failed to appear in The Sun Conference Tournament, and missed out on the NAIA postseason for the first time since 2014.
The good news for Watkins is she has the services of four of the five top hitters from last year to work with, which includes three of the four seniors on the roster.
"We have a solid core of returners who know what it takes to make a statement nationally in NAIA softball," said Watkins. "They have led well connected with our freshmen and newcomers quickly so that we step into this season with a strong sense of preparedness."
Senior infielder
Hannah Bonner posted a .333 average over 50 games last season, and was second on the team with a .404 on base percentage.
Additionally, the infield returns First-Team All-Sun Conference senior
Bailee Moll, who posted a .333 average in Sun Conference play and .324 overall batting average with 18 doubles, three home runs, and 30 RBIs.
Four-year starter
Sam Holcomb is also back in the mix after posting a .293 average with a career-best 33 RBIs.
The Fire also welcome back junior
Haleigh Harrell, who posted a .305 average with 30 RBIs and was tied for the team lead in walks with 17.
"Obviously to win games, we need to be able to put together clean play with a strong offensive approach," said Watkins. "To do that, I think it is going to be important for our pitching staff to step into the circle with a competitive mindset and trust in their various tools."
The pitching staff will have a very different look to it after the graduation of Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year
Hannah Bodenhorn, who had a 1.64 ERA over 141 innings with 164 strikeouts, holding opponents to a .199 average against.
Dayna McDonald is the lone returner to the pitching staff, going 1-0 over 11 innings of work with five strikeouts.
Sophomore
Peyton Varela, a transfer from Cleveland State College in Tennessee and freshmen
Kristyn Dexter and
Megan Froehlich round out the staff.
"They each are very different and will have different strengths for us, and it will be important that they embrace them," said Watkins, who coached the pitching staff at Southern Mississippi to the top of Conference USA in team ERA. "Because we will be young in the circle, we will count on our experience both offensively and defensively to help provide a strong foundation as we begin this 2020 season."
The Fire host Florida National for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Saturday for the season opener. Six opponents this season start the year ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25.
"We will be successful if we consistently maintain a high level of energy and expectation as we enter into this season," said Watkins. "One of our greatest strengths is our overall competitiveness from one player to the next and if we can maximize that day in and day out over the course of a long season, I believe we will see a lot of success.
"We have spent a lot of time in the offseason talking about our identity as a squad, and if we can stay true to that and consistently step on the field with a team first mindset understanding the "why" behind the gifts and talents God has given us, we will look back and deem this season a successful one."
