By Victoria Williamson | Sports Editor
After ending the regular season with a 21-14 record and finishing fourth overall seed in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, the Lynchburg Softball Team looks to use this year’s momentum as they begin their postseason journey this weekend. Head Coach Dawn Simmons, now in her 26th season coaching the team, reflected on one of her goals for this season as the Hornets head to Salem, where they will play Shenandoah University on Saturday night.
“A goal for me coaching-wise has been to work hard each day to help our team and players continue to grow and get better each day, week, each opportunity,” said Simmons, who has led the Hornets to the ODAC tournament every year since she became head coach in 1999.
Junior infielder Georgia Thompson says she’s proud of her development over the season, where she improved not only as a player, batting a career-high .241, but also as a leader in the dugout.
“As a player, my mindset was to contribute to the completion of the team’s goals in any way possible, including creating an encouraging and engaged dugout environment,” Thompson said. “My goal was to center myself around the team values and goals, and no matter the outcome, look for ways to grow as a player and as a team.”
Thompson added that this mindset helped contribute to the team’s success this season, which included a five-game win streak to open the season. Coach Simmons spoke on the growth that she’s seen from players over the course of the season.
“I think in the last few weeks we have really grown mentally. Our skills and our team chemistry has grown as well,” Simmons said.
The team now prepares for the start of the ODAC tournament on May 3, looking to capture their first ODAC Softball Championship since 2009.
For more information on Lynchburg softball, visit: Lynchburg Sports.
