Submitted photo. Front, left to right. Sydney Clow, Tyler Poppe, Hannah Rosenberg, Addy Wohlhuter, Emily Schettler, Teya Schmidtke, Lillie Schultz, Courtney Anderson. Back left to right. Ivy Olson, Bailey Larson, Emily Anderson, Meia Schuett, Cami Clow, Morgan Striemer, Maddie Carlson, Rowan Faber. Not pictured Ida Rohman.

SHERBURN — The Martin County West Mavericks softball team is coming off a 15-8 season in which the squad finished as conference runner-up and third in Section 2A.

The focus now is to build on that success and see it through to the end.

“We are working on a number of things,” said Mavericks head coach Darrell Ziegler. “Team defense, team chemistry and overall more consistent play.”

With the return of shortstop Emily Anderson, third baseman Courtney Anderson, pitcher Maddie Carlson, first baseman Cami Clow, center fielder Hannah Rosenberg, catcher Emily Schettler, right fielder Teya Schmidtke, and second baseman Addy Wohlhuter, the team is packed with veteran experience heading into the 2025 season.

In addition to the returning members, the Mavericks have added pitcher Sydney Clow, left fielder Rowan Faber, first baseman and designated player Bailey Larson, and outfielder and catcher Ivy Olson to the varsity roster this season.

Despite being in a highly competitive section, the Mavericks feel there is no reason that the goal of a Tomahawk-Valley Conference title is out of reach.

“Our goals are to play and work to the best of our abilities each game and practice,” said Ziegler. “We feel we should compete for the conference title and be competitive in a very tough section.”

The Mavericks focus on controlling just a few things heading into a game, which are the only two things a player can control attitude and effort.

“They are both equally important,” said Ziegler. “We talk about only having control of a couple of things, your effort and your attitude. So, both are important to me as a coach.”

The Mavericks will continue to sharpen their defense as the season progresses to protect any lead they gain more effectively.

“We’ve got to sharpen up on defense. It’s always nice to come out ahead,” said Ziegler. “But even in our first game, we let in a couple of runs that we shouldn’t have let in. That’s something we’re working on. It’s trying to get our defense to play a little better. That starts with our pitchers throwing a little better and hitting their spots, getting ahead in the counts. All those little things make a big difference.”

The Mavericks, now 2-0, will head to Mountain Lake for a 4:30 p.m. game Friday.