Freshman catcher Ella Manzer will be welcoming her sister Caroline Manzer among eight others for the 2019 softball season. Among the nine early signers, eight are incoming freshmen and one is a transfer. File Photo/The Lion’s Roar
The university has signed nine girls to the 2019 softball team as part of the early signing.
“The early signing class are, last names, Alfano, Bennett, Blackford, Chavez, Hannabas, Henderson, Kraft, Manzer and Rizzo,” said softball Head Coach Rick Fremin. “Eight of the nine will be incoming freshmen and one is a transfer, which is Emily Henderson, who will be transferring from LSU Eunice.”
Fremin said the girls were chosen for their skill sets, character, aggressive play and what they bring to the program as a whole.
“I expect them to be an impact to our program right away,” said Fremin. “They each have very refined skill sets, whether they have an athletic background to compete in multiple areas, offensively, defensively, speed, short game, in the pitching circle. Or, they may do something extremely well in their skillset, whether it be power hitter, speed player, or play a specific position defensively.”
Fremin complimented the competency of the girls in softball.
“All of them are very high with the knowledge of the game and their softball IQ and bring good strong work ethic to the program as well with a blue-collar background,” said Fremin. “I look forward to working with them.”
Fremin has high expectations for the nine girls.
“These new players, I think will bring a lot to the table for the future of our program in the direction we’re going,” said Fremin. “A lot of them are local, from the state of Louisiana, and there’s I think three of them, if I’m not mistaken, from out of state: California, Texas and Iowa.”
Two of the girls, Blackford and Manzer, will be joining their sisters who are already on the team.
“I think we’ll just continue to build our program,” said Fremin. “We’ve been able to move up in the conference standings every year. This is going into year three for me as a coach here at Southeastern. We had a very good fall. We finished the fall 7-0-1. The NCAA allows us eight games to play in the fall, but those are our non championship segment. This spring will be our championship segment with 56 games scheduled. Look forward to advancing our program to compete with conference champions
The Lady Lions will resume play by hosting Lion Classic I on Friday, Feb. 9 at 3 p.m. The series will mark the beginning of 10 straight home games for the team.
