By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
The Timothy Christian softball team is in good hands between the pitching circle and home plate.
The Trojans, coming off a 2015 year where it went 6-20 and 2-10 in Metro Suburban Conference East Division play, returns the battery of junior catcher Hope Zastrow and junior pitcher Emily Gifford.
“Hope’s a solid kid who has the most experience,” said Timothy coach Aaron Moore. “Her and Emily both play travel softball. With that experience they will help the younger kids. Emily is a solid competitor who will be asked to pitch a lot. It’s a challenge she is up to. We will have to win some games through her pitching. We’re an extremely young team and have a small roster this year. Both girls will definitely help everybody out.”
Moore noted the Trojans have a roster of 11 players that includes two freshmen and one sophomore. “The two new freshmen are gong to do fine. They are still learning the game,” said Moore. “It will be interesting to see what they do when we get into playing games.”
Timothy is scheduled to open the 2016 season today at Nazareth Academy and is slated to host Luther North Monday.
“A big strength of ours is with our catching and pitching. Hope and Emily are going at it hard and they are showing what we need to do,” said Moore. “They are going to be strong for us. We’re missing some experience at some important positions, but everybody is learning and adapting and hopefully we’ll be able to sneak out some wins. The weather has gone our way and we’ve been able to get outside a couple of times, which has been a big help.”
While Timothy might lack experience on its roster, it does not lack character.
“It’s a great group of girls,” said Moore. “They work hard. They want to be successful and they try hard. They listen well and they want to get better.”
Gifford is a returning all-conference player for the Trojans.
