A season ago, the North Putnam softball team gained confidence within its program.
This season, they look to take that confidence and contend, as they enter the season with a motto of "Champions don't wake up every day motivated to conquer the world. They conquer the world because they wake up motivated to go 1-0 every day."
"We lost an abundance of leadership last year with Grace Kinkead, who went to Franklin College, Ashley Weir, Kyla Willis and Mia Crafton. I am not sure if any program can replace after graduation but they learn to adapt to new leaders and their skill set. We lost four very good athletes last year and this year's rendition of the Cougars will have softball athletes to fill those gaps with abundance of experience and a few new faces," Roussey told The Puntam County Post.
Leading the way will be seniors Kyndal Brewer and Karrissa Miller, both of whom have over 100 innings pitched from last season. Up the middle will be a strength, according to Roussey, as WIC All-Conference players are back in seniors Brylie Schmitz and Emma Williams.
Schmitz, a shortstop, hit .420 with 35 RBI's, five homers and 11 stolen bases, while Williams, a catcher, hit .463 with 23 RBI's and 10 extra base hits.
Senior Ashlyn Stacks is back at second base and junior Lexi Daigle is back in centerfield after hitting .333 a season ago.
When not pitching, Brewer and Miller will play first base. Last season, Brewer hit .467 with 29 RBI's and four homers, while Miller hit .414 with 24 RBI's and 12 extra base hits. Third base will belong to senior Kylie Rust, who is back from a season ending injury last year. Roussey said freshmen Hailee Daigle and Baylee Pride are two players he expects big things out of this season because of their "unlimited talent" and sophomore Mackenzie Mason will be the utility player, who will see a lot of action, according to Roussey.
"The 2023 Cougars have goals this season with the bar set from last year. We have set our sights on Putnam County, WIC championship, but something that is now in our everyday vocabulary is winning a Class 2A Indiana State Championship. We have built the confidence in our program that there is only one team that can beat us and that is ourselves. We feel we can not only play with the best but beat them on any given day, but by saying that, we know we have to be at our "A" game every day with the target on our back. With talent and a strong senior class, they are aware that we cannot afford to look ahead without getting better each day and pushing each other to maximize our talents and knowledge of the game with competitive drills. Our goal is to go 1-0 each day. Win the day and each day we are successful will get us closer to our goal at the end, but we have to take care of the day in front of us first and foremost," Roussey said.
