Mustang Softball is Back

By Megan Lonigro

The Little Chute Softball team is back from last year with a few new additions. The Mustangs have 10 returning softball players who are as follows: Lizzy Lehrer, Aubrie Hermsen, Olivia O´Connell, Jordan Lonigro, Katie Joten, Megan Lonigro, Brooke Jansen, Mary Hammen, Libby Vandenberg, and Makenna Lamers. Adding to the team this year, Halie Hermsen and Jana Van Vooren have decided to play their senior year as well as Kyra Lefeber, a new freshman. The team is very closely bonded and is ready to get on their field and start to compete against other teams.
According to Halie Hermsen, she is excited for being with the team and getting to know the game on a whole different level. ¨I would go to the majority of the games anyway because of Aubrie [Halie´s sister] so I figured why not play and be with all my friends. Watching the team in the past, everyone is super close in and out of school and I'm super excited to be a part of that,¨ says Halie. Halie Hermsen is an outfielder for the Mustangs and can´t wait until the games start.
Jana VanVooren is playing first base for the team this year. She played softball at a younger age and has thought about going out for the past two years and finally decided to go out her last year. ¨I think the season is going to fly by. My goal is to have fun, play hard, and support each other,¨ Jana states. She is most excited to be with the people she loves to hang out with and work together to accomplish one goal.
Captains last season and this season are seniors Olivia O´Connell and Megan Lonigro. These two girls were chosen as leaders of the team by their coaches and teammates. According to Olivia O´Connell, she believes her job as a captain is to be a positive role model and to be someone's motivation if they are having a rough time. In order for the team to succeed, the captains are looked to in order to make sure everyone is positive and be a point of communication for good and bad situations. When being asked her goal for the team for this season, she replied, ¨I agree with [Coach] Long that at least one win against each conference team is possible.¨ Both captains want to remember our last season of softball and make it as fun and successful as possible.
With seven games canceled already due to unfortunate weather, the Mustangs are excited to get on their field and play some games. The team has been practicing inside and working hard to be ready for a game anytime. The next scheduled home games for Mustang Softball is a doubleheader on Friday, April 20th versus Denmark. Come out and support!