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D&E softball team opens the campaign this weekend

Lady Senators slated to play pair of twin bills at King and Tusculum

The Inter-Mountain file photo The Davis & Elkins College softball team is set to begin the season Sunday with a doubleheader at King (Tenn.).

ELKINS — When the Davis & Elkins College softball team takes the field on Sunday in Tennessee, not only will the Mountain East Conference era begin for the program, but the busy spring sports season will officially be upon us.

The Lady Senators will open up their schedule with three consecutive weekends down south, taking on King (Tenn.) and Tusculum in doubleheaders on Sunday and Monday, respectively.

The 2020 campaign will find many old WVIAC rivalries renewed, as D&E will take on several teams in the MEC for the first time since 2013. This will present an excellent opportunity for the Lady Senator softball program to stake their claim as a top team in the MEC.

The squad will lean on an experienced senior class, as Kelsie Millner, Morgan Tandarich, Elkins native Amy Fincham, Ryn Boelter and Rhetta Persinger will take the field for their final season at D&E.

An offense and defensive-minded team with a penchant for excellent baserunning, the Senators were picked to finish fifth in the MEC South Division, coming off a 20-30 season in 2019, which saw them narrowly miss the G-MAC tournament.

Millner projects to serve as the team’s primary shortstop, combining her reliable glove with a bat that hit .277 in 2019, and is one of many threats along the base paths, swiping 10 bags on 12 attempts in her junior campaign.

Boelter will be given a new look for 2020, transitioning to the circle to serve as one of the team’s pitchers for the first time in her career.

Boelter is a potent threat in the lineup as well, hitting .345 in her junior season, with an on-base plus slugging of .934.

Persinger provided the pop in the Lady Senators’ lineup last season as one of the G-MAC’s top home run threats in 2019, belting eight long balls on the season while hitting at a solid .333 clip.

On the mound, sophomore Haley Grindstaff returns with a year of experience under her belt, flashing signs of excellence in her debut campaign. Grindstaff will be joined in the rotation by Boelter, Ava Willis and Jenna Evans to form the Senators pitching staff.

Freshman Honesty Holt projects to start behind the plate, while several other returning and new Senators have a significant opportunity to become impact players in head coach Jordan Olson’s fourth season at the helm of the softball program.

“Transitioning to the MEC is so valuable for us,” Olson said. “Our fans have always traveled well, and fewer long road trips presents an opportunity to have a big support group everywhere we go.”

It won’t be easy for the Lady Senators, however, as the team faces a schedule loaded with quality teams. D&E will be challenged right off the bat as Tusculum has jumped out to a 4-0 start on the young season.

“A competitive, but preparing schedule in the MEC awaits us after our valuable innings and weekends in February. The opportunity to compete is there for us,” added Olson.

D&E begins its season on Sunday with a doubleheader against King (Tenn.) beginning at 1 p.m.

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