Seniors, pitching top strengths for 'Streaks

CHISHOLM—The Chisholm High School softball team might be lacking some numbers, but that doesn’t mean the Bluestreaks won’t be competitive.

At least that’s the hope as Chisholm coach Don Quirk gets his team set to start the 2024 season.

Quirk will make the best of what he has to work with, so the Bluestreaks can compete on a game-by-game basis.

“We’re short on numbers, but we have three seniors, with an experienced pitcher,” Quirk said. “After that, we have two sophomores, one freshman and the rest our eighth- and seventh-graders that might get to play a little bit, too.”

That senior pitcher is Abby Duchene.

“She’s a mainstay on the team,” Quirk said. “She’s going to get the majority of the workload. She’s a great kid. She’ll work hard, and do a good job. We don’t know what the other teams have out there, but we’re hoping, as always, to be competitive.

“We’ll figure out ways to get some wins.”

The other seniors are Jaicee Koehler and Lila Maki.

“They’re the core of the team,” Quirk said. “They have to be leaders, and hopefully, they all have good seasons and help with the improvement of the younger girls. There’s some ability there, but they’re young.

“They have to grow.”

The sophomores include Kylie Maki and Rylee Aultman. The freshman is Greta Nelson.

From there, Nina Anderson, Audriana LaBarge, Madi Hanegmon, Sunnie Weston and Isabelle Caudullo might get their feet wet on the varsity squad.

“Like I’ve said before, it’s all about wanting to improve and get better,” Quirk said. “We’ve found some way to get a lot of reps in for the kids, so they can improve. We’ll need to play decent defense because we may struggle with the bats.

“It’s improving as a group and trying to get better every day.”

On defense, Avaya Fontaine, who is an eighth-grader, will the the shortstop. Maki will do the catching, so Chisholm will be young up the middle.

“Avaya is a good athlete, and she has some skills,” Quirk said. “She has to be ready for this. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with her ability. Kylie loves the game. She has a great attitude.

“As far as second base and centerfield go, we’re moving that around, trying to figure that one out. That’s a work in progress. We have some young girls, and a few of them have a chance to win that job.”

The biggest question mark is the offense.

“I’m more concerned about how we’re going to find some offense,” Quirk said. “We can make the routine plays on defense, which is mandatory. We’ll be working hard at being able to bunt the ball.

“We have to put the ball in play to make teams play defense and make plays. I’d like them to be aggressive, swing at strikes and not sit and watch pitches. We have to do everything we can to make teams play defense. We don’t want strikeouts.”

The biggest thing, again, is improving every day.

“I want us to be competitive and win some games,” Quirk said. “We have good kids, but the competition is steep. We have to find ways to get some wins. I want the girls to enjoy the season, especially if we play well and up to our ability.”