Waxahachie, Texas- January 27, 2016- The opening day of the Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) softball season is just days away and the Lady Lions are ready for 2016. This season will be under new leadership with first year head coach Sarah Harman .
Harman is bringing a new look to the program and believes that fans can expect to see solid defense from the Lady Lions, “We will be more defensively sound. From day one we have been working on it and the entire team has bought in.”
Upper classmen Kelsey Coburn , Ashley Abair, Amber Gignac and Hannah Lee will be looked upon to bring leadership to the Lady Lions. Coburn returns as SAGU’s top hitter. In 2015, Coburn had 18 RBI’s and batted 0.379.
Last season Lee pitched 27 games and over 135 innings. This season Harman expects pitch calling to greatly improve the overall game, “We will call to both our pitchers strengths, but also factor in a more developed game plan against opponents that our defense can play behind.”
On top of pitch calling and defense, the Lady Lions have been working hard to improve their mental game. “Being mentally tough isn’t something this team has displayed in the past and its already paying off. They are more composed and confident,” says Harman.
Senior Kelsey Coburn echoes Harman’s sentiments about being prepared, “I honestly think we will be more prepared physically and mentally. We do a lot of mental prep as well as more weights and conditioning.”
As for newcomers to watch, Harman says Kaitlyn Canales and Riehana Cano will give the Lady Lions a new look in the middle infield. Both have game instinct and have a good first step to the ball.
Returners Bailey Balloun and Kristin Stringer will be versatile on defense but have also spent the off-season improving offensively. Balloun and Stringer aren’t the only ones that have improved offensively, the entire team has been working on moving runners and using short game and placement. Coburn will be returning as the top hitter, but fans can expect to see a lot of offensive production out of Amber Gignac in the lead-off position.
On Saturday, January 30, 2016 the SAGU Lady Lions will be tested both mentally and physically when they begin their season with a doubleheader against Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Game time is at 1pm.
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.
Contact: Natalie Tristan, Sports Information, [email protected]
