POPLARVILLE, Miss. — With the 2020 softball season a mere seven days away, first-year Pearl River coach Christie Meeks is laying down the final preparations for her team.
Meeks has the team focused in on one goal heading into the season: "Playing as one".
"One of the things we want to do is be one as a team," Meeks said. "One mind, one sound, let's move as a team and fight as a team."
PROVIDING A SPARK
Meeks already has a solid idea of who the Wildcats can rely on at the plate.
"(Brooke) Fagan (Kiln; Hancock) is doing an outstanding job as well as Sydney Runnels (Seminary; South Jones) and Emily McDonald (Laurel; Wayne County)."
Being relied on as a spark to the offense is nothing new for Fagan who soared in her freshmen season batting at .355 with 25 RBIs.
The shortstop was also selected to the MACJC All-State and Region XXIII All-Region teams and she loves the energy she's seen from her teammates as the season approaches.
"We're really excited and we're pumped," Fagan said. "We're buying into the process and taking it one step at a time."
Fagan's hoping she can serve as a leader for some of her younger teammates and help them get ahead of the curve when conference play rolls around.
"When I was a freshmen coming in it was really stressful," she said. "We're just teaching them to play the game they've always loved and just go out there and give it their all."
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GETTING DEFENSIVE
Meeks has been more than impressed with the way her team has performed through camp; so much so that she credited them as a whole unit.
"On our defense right now our team is really working as a whole," she said. "I can't really pinpoint one person out specifically."
Two players the Wildcats will be sure to look to in the circle will be returning sophomores Grace Stringer (Moselle; South Jones) and Gracie Barnett (Vancleave).
In 24 appearances last season Stringer posted a record of 13-2 while holding an ERA of 2.30.
Stringer has looked to her new coach on how to approach her season.
"I've taken away from Coach Meeks to own every second of it," Stringer said. "To be confident in who you are as a player and trust God throughout the process and to just work hard. Coach Meeks has taught me a lot about work ethic. In the short time I've known her she has helped me grow so much."
Barnett is hoping to carry over the momentum she had from the end of her season last year. Barnett posted a record of 3-6 with an ERA of 3.17 but came into her own towards the end of the season getting the Wildcats a win over nationally ranked Jones in the MACJC playoffs.
"Before conference play I think our main goal is to just stay focused," Barnett said. "We're on a process right now with these new coaches and learning more of the mental aspects of the game to last a full seven innings."
SETTING THE GOALS
Meeks has had her team approach the season in a more broken down fashion in order to evaluate their goals.
"We have a preseason, we have a conference play and we have a postseason," Meeks said. "Right now in the preseason we want our girls to just mesh and we want our girls to execute. We want to be really sound on the bases, we want to have a solid defense so working behind our pitchers is one of the biggest things and rallying and having high energy the entire time."
AROUND THE CORNER
PRCC opens the season Feb. 8-9 in Chipola's tournament in Dothan, Ala. The Wildcats play Tallahassee on Feb. 8 and then both Gulf Coast State College and Georgia Military College on Feb. 9. PRCC then travels to Coastal Alabama-South on Feb. 11 before hosting Baton Rouge on Feb. 15.
Meeks' squad opens MACJC action March 6 at Northwest and will host Southwest on March 18.
HOW TO TUNE IN
All home games will be streamed at PRCCMedia.com.
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