The early part of the softball season often means sitting on the sidelines watching the raindrops fall. So it was for Ethel's scheduled season opener with Leake Central.
The scoreboard read Elements 1, Play 0.
The Lady Tigers were scheduled to play Philadelphia Tuesday, weather permitting, will be at Houston Friday and home against Choctaw County next Monday.
Ethel is coming off a 2021 season that saw the Lady Tigers reach the third round of the state playoffs.
Ethel loses only one starter from a year ago but is still a young team with three seniors. “'We’re young and we need to mature,” said coach Tyler McKinley. “We have a lot of growing up to do.”
The pitching will be handled by Elena White, an eighth grader, and Brooke Mitchell, a junior. One (White) is left-handed and one (Mitchell) is right-handed, so they complement each other very nicely,” McKinley said.
The key, he said, is to cut down on the walks and play sounder defense. “It is extremely hard to win with 10-plus walks in a game and five-plus errors. The pitchers have worked extremely hard and should take a huge step forward.”
The catcher is Emily Mitchell. The infield will have Karli Frotenberry at first, Lizzy Rae Ellington at second, Brooke Mitchell at short and Melissa Jones or Meredith Moudy at the hot corner.
Aubrey Blaine, Brailyn Rone, Maree Sisson and Makenzie Miller will see playing time in the outfield, with Jasmine Johnson as the designated player.
Johnson, Jones and Miller are the only seniors.
The Region 5-1A completion is Sebastopol, French Camp, Noxapater, Leake County and McAdams. McKinley pegged Sebastopol and French Camp as the strongest opponents. Sebastopol reached the South State final and French Camp the second round last year, both losing to 1A runner-up Stringer.
The schedule features five tournaments, including one hosted by Ethel March 11-12, and many of the non-conference games are against teams from larger classifications.
“We should be able to compete very well with everybody on our schedule,” McKinley said.
Ethel 2022 softball roster
00 Mollie Sisson
3 Elena White
4 Lizzy Rae Ellington
6 Annabella McBride
7 Brailyn Rone
8 Haleigh Hutchison
9 Makenzie Miller
10 Hadlee Fancher
13 Emily Mitchell
14 Macee Sisson
18 Avril Albia
20 Jasmine Johnson
21 Mya Braksdale
22 Meredith Moudy
23 Melissa Jones
24 Sadee Cummins
25 Marlie Bishop
26 Autumn Sims
27 Riley Beauchamp
29 Karli Fortenberry
33 Aubrey Blaine
99 Brooke Mitchell
Ethel 2022 softball schedule
Feb. 22 Philadelphia Away
Feb. 25 Houston Away
Feb. 28 Choctaw County Home
March 1 Kosciusko Away
March 3 Kosciusko Home
March 4 East Webster Away
March 7 Choctaw County Away
March 8 *French Camp Away
March 10 *Leake County (DH) Home
March 11-12 Ethel Tournament
March 14 Nanih Waiya Tournament
March 15 Eupora Tournament
March 22 *Sebastopol Home
March 26 Union Tournament
March 29 *Noxapater Home
March 31 *French Camp Home
April 5 *McAdams (DH) Home
April 7 *Sebastopol Away
April 9 Smithville Tournament
April 11 Vardaman Home
April 14 *Noxapater Away
April 15 South Pontotoc Away
April 18 Vardaman Away
* – Region 5-1A
