CARTHAGE, Mo. — Softball begins this weekend as the Carthage Tigers are looking to build off their success last season.

The Tigers are on the come-up. They’ve put together three straight winning seasons.

They bring back talent and experience while also counting on some younger girls to step up.

Pitcher Addie Wallace went 9-5 last year, she’ll be at it again this season.

Junior Pitcher Addie Wallace said, “I feel like we got a lot better on pretty much everything. Like we’ve been developing a lot and the defense has taken lots of reps during practice and stuff. Our pitchers are developing well. Like Lottie over there, she’s she’s gotten a lot better.”

Jenna Calhoon and Ashlyn Brust also return providing some firepower in their lineup.

Junior Third Baseman Jenna Calhoon mentions what the team has gotten better at this season. “I feel like we worked on just like our cuts and everything. We did a lot of hitting and I feel like our bats could be very strong this year. Our fielding, we’re kind of young still, but coming in, I feel like we have a great group of girls who are determined and just want to be out on the field with everyone.”

As the team preps for their first game, the Tigers have improved on all aspects of the game during the off-season.

Carthage Head Coach Stephanie Ray says, “Our hitting, so last year I think we averaged seven runs a game which was up from the year before. And you know in this off-season they’ve put a lot of time in their hitting as well. We’ve kind of, we’re locking up our defense and we’ve worked on some of those things.”

The Tigers will begin their 2023 campaign when they travel up to Morrisville for the 29th Annual Morrisville Softball Tournament. That’ll take play on August 25th and 26th.