One big family

An experienced coach, experienced players and a shared love of the game is only part of the reason this year’s Lady Loggers softball team work like a well-oiled machine.

“This is our crazy family,” one player explained as the Lady Loggers softball team scrambled together to pose for a team photo.

And a family the team certainly seems to be - their large field feels like a living room, complete with encouragement and laughter from teammates and coaches alike.

This year, twenty Loggers went out for “the greatest game invented” as head coach Dean Thompson put it.

“These girls get along. They really do,” Thompson said. “And I have an incredible coaching staff.”

The team has lost five seniors since last year, including a first and third baseman, but Thompson said that their freshmen and sophomore players have stepped up alongside their upperclassmen teammates.

While they lost players, they also reunited with two. Last year, starting-Lady Loggers Jayden Winslow and Abby Ennenga were both injured early in the season.

Once again, pitcher Khalyn Hageness and former back-up pitcher Lynsey Walker will take the mound as starting pitchers. Senior hitter Madison Monigold, who’s been in the number-one spot in batting order since she was a freshman, is also back this year.

Looking towards the season, Thompson admits that it isn’t going to be easy.

“We have a tough conference,” Thompson said. “Polson, Ronan and Plains all look tough this year, and in our division Florence is tough and Anaconda is a good team.”

The Lady Loggers first game is scheduled for Saturday at noon in Polson.

Thompson requested that a thank you be included in this article to Terry Oedewaldt for having his construction company come and plow the fields.