Fastpitch team young, hungry

Young, fiery and ready to surprise the conference.

That’s how first-year Whitefish softball coach Carrie Biolo describes the Lady Bulldogs as they prepare for their season opener this Thursday against Columbia Falls.

“I think we can be contenders in games and compete with other teams in the conference,” Biolo said. “We’re going to be the underdogs and we’ll get out there and try to gain some respect.”

The roster is 18 girls deep with eight freshman, six juniors, three sophomores and one senior. Six girls were on the team last season.

Baylee Tveidt, Andrea Lamoureux, Malia Morris and Halle Reading look to be in the pitching rotation.

The team’s first practice outside was Monday, so Biolo is still unsure where girls will play on the diamond.

“We’ll expose them to a lot of different positions and hopefully we can key in on where they should be by the end of the season,” she said.

The team has been hitting at the Armory and working on defense at the high school gym.

“The girls have pretty raw talent,” Biolo said. “We’ll try to build knowledge of the game and a love of the sport. The expectations are to have a good time and enjoy playing the game.”

The team travels to Columbia Falls on Thursday for the season opener. Varsity plays at 5:30 p.m.