The weather may not show it, but softball season is already here for the Lincoln Blue Tigers.
Lincoln opens the 2020 season with a doubleheader at noon today against the Stephens College Stars. The two teams will meet again Sunday, this time in Columbia, for another doubleheader.
Even though conditions have been freezing the past few days, Lincoln coach Christine Core said her team has been ready for the season to get started.
"We've been out on our field four or five days, and we've been on the turf at the football field," Core said. "We've had a variety of practices, everything from scrimmages to live hitting to hitting day only to full, intensive days to small groups.
"They've covered it all. They are beyond prepared at this point."
This is the first time in 10 years Lincoln will not be heading south to start the season. It also marks the Blue Tigers' latest start to the season since 2012, when Lincoln's first game wasn't until Feb. 23.
But the extra few weeks of practice have paid off, Core said.
"Last year, we didn't get on the dirt until we actually played a game," she said.
Lincoln had a home-and-home series scheduled last season in February against Stephens College, but it was canceled due to the weather. The Blue Tigers swept a doubleheader against the Stars the following month, but they won just four other games the rest of the 2019 season.
Lincoln returns just six players from last year's roster, with five of them expected to start in today's opener.
"We have a more diverse personnel this year," Core said.
There are 10 newcomers to the roster. Six are freshmen and four are transfers.
"I emphasized when I was recruiting them that I need kids who are hard workers and hard-nosed," Core said. "They're going to have to come in and be competitive."
One of the returners is senior pitcher Shannon Greene, who logged 124 innings in the pitcher's circle last season. She'll be one of five pitchers Core will use this season, along with sophomore transfer Tressa Hughes from Jefferson College, junior transfer Alex Miller from North Central Missouri College, and freshmen Ashton Stalling and Hannah Clark.
Greene will remain Lincoln's No. 1 pitcher, but Core said Hughes will bring plenty of power to the circle and Miller had two good seasons in Trenton.
"They all pair well with each other," Core said. "I have more of a baseball mentality. If I have the staff, I want to go with a starter, maybe a middle reliever and then a closer. We have enough bodies to do that."
With Greene is the circle, the remaining four pitchers hit well enough and could find their ways into a game without pitching. Stalling will start in right field, while Miller will be the designated player. Core added Hughes hit well enough that she can bat in place of a designated player when she pitches.
Paige Parker, a redshirt junior, will be the starting catcher. The Blue Tigers also have depth behind the plate, as freshman Payton Mooney can also catch. Area graduates Payton Good (School of the Osage High School) and Sara Williams (Helias High School), both freshmen, are also listed as catchers.
When Stalling is in the pitcher's circle, Good will take her place in right field.
Lincoln's top returning hitter this year is senior Jordan Lawson, who will start in center field. Larson batted .312 (48-for-154) with a team-high 24 runs scored in 50 games last season, earning a spot on the All-MIAA honorable mention list.
"She's going to have a different role," Core said. "She's not going to have to be the leadoff hitter. She can go into a role that's more comfortable for her in the 3-5 spot. I just want her to relax and have another awesome season."
Mykenzie Livesay, the third senior on the roster, returns as the starting second baseman. She batted .276 last season and consistently put the ball in play, striking out just 12 times in 141 plate appearances.
Kendra Holt, a junior transfer from NCMC, will start at first base. Holt batted .393 with five home runs and 35 RBI last season for the Pirates, and Core looks for her to join Lawson in the middle of the batting order.
"Mykenzie and Kendra round out a very solid right side of the infield," Core said. "We've improved greatly on the infield."
Sophomore Bekah Kirker will move from shortstop to third base this season. Junior transfer Jordan Hollon, from Indian Hill Community College, will take over at shortstop this season.
Rounding out the starting lineup will be freshman Emily Williams in left field. Williams and Stalling will likely be the first two hitters in the batting order today.
Lincoln's offense averaged three runs per game last season, but the pitching staff gave up nearly nine runs per game. Core said the runs allowed were about 80 percent of the problem last season.
"In the fall, we really worked on pitch mastery," Core said. "If we can just keep hitters off-balanced, we're going to be fine.
"We're just trying to miss the barrel of the bat. We're not going to strike out 20 or 21 a game. We just need to get ground balls and pop-ups."
The Blue Tigers host Lane next Friday, then they will play the following weekend in the Drury Invitational. Conference play begins March 6 at Nebraska-Kearney.
Lincoln finished 3-23 last season in the MIAA.
"For the most part, whoever showed up was going to win," Core said of her first experience in the MIAA last season. "Even in some games we lost, there were 10-15 runs scored. I think we can compete in the MIAA once we get the right personnel involved.
"It was fun, it was competitive. It wasn't a bunch of shutouts. It was offensively driven, which I think is more fun to watch and be a part of."
For now, Lincoln is focused on this weekend's games. The Blue Tigers hold a 4-0 lead in the all-time series against Stephens College.
"Just getting those first-game jitters out of the way will be good," Core said. "You can tell this week they've been hyping up for game day."