Ahead of the 2024 season, Spring Hill College softball Head Coach Hanna Lythberg sat down for a Q&A previewing the year.
How are preseason preparations going?
“It’s going really well. [The] girls are working really, really hard. We’ve been scrimmaging the last couple of days, so it’s been really nice to see different lineups, different people hitting against each other and pitching against each other and different defensive lineups. It’s been going very, very well. I like that. I like what I’m seeing.”
Who could lead things in the pitching circle this season?
“We will absolutely miss Peyton [Desormeaux], personally and athletically. She was a big component of our team last year and years prior. So, I don’t think we’ll replace her. I don’t think we’ll replace her bat. I don’t think we’ll replace her pitching, but we’ve got definitely a lot of arms on staff. We’ve got seven arms on staff and a couple of bats as well. So, hopefully one of those bats can help fill in the role that that Peyton left. We’ve got Emily Phillips in as a senior from Coastal [Alabama] North and she was the pitcher of the year last year there. So, I think she’ll definitely help out in the circle along with Emma Curry from last year. She’s a sophomore this year, got a little bit of experience underneath her belt. Then we’ve got a couple other arms, Rycca [Hinton] from Northwest Florida [College], had a year under her belt as well at Southern Miss. She not only is a pitcher, but also a hitter. Emily also is a not only a pitcher, but a shortstop and a hitter too. So, we’ve got a lot of versatility in our pitching staff, which helps us with our defensive lineup and being able to kind of switch things in and out, but not losing a bat either because Desormeaux obviously was a bat as well. So, we definitely have options, which is a great thing.”
Who is emerging as a team leader overall?
“Yeah, so Macy [Holt] is obviously always going to be a little bit of that hard-nosed player and leader and we love her for that. Bailey Cox was a threat in our lineup last year and she’s a true utility player. She fills a lot of roles around the field. She excels in the lineup and is a threat from the left side and is hard to pitch to. She’s very selective and disciplined in the zone and definitely produces for us offensively. She’s a great leader to have back in the lineup. Emerging leaders as newcomers on the field, I would say Taylor Pittmanfor sure has been great. Just a leader and teammate that you want to have on your roster. Cat McCulley are transfer catcher from University of Alabama Huntsville brings enthusiasm to the team and is just one of those people that is always going to put extra work in always. Emily Phillips just with her experience and years brings a lot of leadership onto the field, in the circle, in the hitting lineup and at shortstop. Our other ones would be Meadow Villar from East Central Mississippi College. She’s the home runs queen from there, so we’re excited to have her and she just she brings a lot of joy and people love having her around. So, I would say there’s a lot of different types of personalities and leadership qualities.”
How is the energy from last year’s run transferring over?
“Our conference has been very competitive in recent years. I think our returners definitely have some fight left in them and they want to get back and climb up into winning that conference title. I would say, losing to Tuskegee two years in a row, for our returners, especially people like Macy and Lindsey Mecom, that means a lot to them and it holds a lot of weight. You know, we went 12 innings with Edward Waters and that showed a lot of grit. I mean, we were right there with Tuskegee, losing 4-3 against them in the conference championship [tournament] and then going 12 innings with Edward Waters. I think shows you that we, we’re right there. We’re right there. We’ve added a lot of different key components to our roster and I think that’s going to help push us over the top. Then it’s always good to have newbies come in and be able to add a little bit too.”
How are you feeling about opening up with a nationally-ranked slate at the Gulf Shores Invitational?
I think we’ve really been working on embracing the struggle, right? You know, like we have to go up against these really great teams in order to one find out what we have. It’s just going to push us forward, especially getting us ready for conference championship and postseason. I think they’re willing to go through that in order to get where we need to get at the end of the year. We face a lot of very good competition and I’m hopeful that it’s just going to push us forward.”
What is that home-field advantage like on The Hill?
“Yeah, I think the atmosphere and being home on our home field means a little bit more, especially to our local kids and upperclassmen. It’s always great to have Badger fans. It’s always great to have student-athletes there in attendance kind of pushing us forward. It’s a great atmosphere to be a part of and I think it helps fuel the fire for the girls – having their parents and being able to have their family and friends here.”
The Badgers return four all-conference lettermen from last season; Curry and Airyonna Weaver received first-team honors, while Glowacki and Cox earned second-team nods. Spring Hill opens its season at the Gulf Shores Invitational against Valdosta State and No. 1 North Georgia, the defending national champion, on Friday.
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