Clinton Cougars softball season kicks off March 26

By Tammy Theisen
Contributor

The Clinton Cougars take the field for their first game on Tuesday, March 26, against the East Troy Trojans.

The Cougars have two recognized Rock Valley Conference players returning with senior Allie Bell and junior Ashley Theisen. They also have a core of players coming back in the lineup as well as some incoming freshman and a transfer sophomore that are ready to make an impact. It will be hard to fill the roles of last year’s seniors, but moving forward, the future looks very bright for Clinton softball.

According to Coach Ross Reincke, the strengths of the team this year will be leadership, pitching, intelligence, and a desire to get better. This year’s team is more experienced, more athletic, they have a greater willingness to work hard, and are having fun.

Their hope is to push towards the top third of the Rock Valley Conference this year. As usual, the top of the conference is very strong, but Coach Reincke thinks they will be able to compete.

I was also able to sit down with senior captain Karlee Morris. Morris has taken over the role of leading in team bonding exercises at practice – “such an important part of this year’s team maintaining relationships on and off the field. Positive attitudes and experienced leadership is what makes this team different from last year,” she stated.

Allie Bell, also a senior captain, stated, “As a team we need to have less errors and clean up the defense. We also need to have more solid at bats by being more selective at the plate.” As a captain, Bell hopes to motivate and help new players. She also stated that, “we are going to struggle against the top teams in conference, but will be able to compete with most teams with cleaning up the defense.”

Ashley Theisen, the junior captain, agreed with Bell and said, “We need to clean up our defense and minimize errors and find ways to get on base.” She hopes to be competitive against most teams even though this is still going to be a learning year. Theisen is hoping to be an effective leader for the team while having fun. On the mound, she hopes to challenge hitters, stay positive and pick up her teammates.

The 2024 Clinton Cougars softball team. Back row (from left): Kylie Goodendorf, Jordi Morrison, Brielle Kohls, Kali Morrison, Grace Wilson, Selena Hyde and Alexa Witte. Front row: Lylah Peters, Miranda Dahle, London Winch, Allie Bell, Ashley Theisen, Natalie Boggess, Karlee Morris, Addy Mueller, and Ella Roehl. Not pictured: Emily Hubka and Kyleigh Williams. (Submitted photo)