BILLINGS — It’s been a long five years, but Billings Skyview softball finally looks like it’s back.
“You know how our last couple years went,” head coach Mike Falcon recalled. “The girls are off to a great start.”
“A good start for us, especially considering last year we didn’t even have seven wins on the whole season,” said infielder Jessica Ellis.
After beating Billings Senior on Monday the Falcons are now 8-1. Shea Earley, one of seven seniors, is back on the mound after missing almost all of last year with an injury, and she’s getting plenty of support.
“We’re hitting the ball,” Ellis said. “We’re definitely outscoring our opponents. That means we’re doing our job at the plate right at least.”
“Overall, our bats have been pretty good so far, but I think if we take it to the next level we’ll be right there with the Great Falls teams,” teammate Aliya Morrow said.
The Falcons will get their chance starting Friday with a weekend trip to Great Falls.
“Our schedule is going to get a whole lot tougher now. We’re going to start playing the top teams in our conference,” Falcon said. “But as long as we keep improving every day — we’re pretty senior-laden, which is good to see — we can be right there with them.”
Luckily, the Falcons know what the No. 1 key is to transitioning from good to great.
“If I had to nitpick one thing, I’d say communication,” Falcon said. “It’s getting them to talk out when there are fly balls and ground balls out there.”
“Yeah, I would agree with that,” Ellis said. “A little bit more communication, a little less running into each other, understanding who gets what.”
“We already have had one player hurt because of communication, and I think if we just get that together, we’re going to be a lot more well-rounded,” Morrow said.
And possibly state-tournament bound for the first time in these players’ careers.
