Head coach Travis Motes has high hopes for this year’s Portal softball team.

Coming off a season in which a lot of younger players were thrown into the fire the Panthers return quite a few experienced players and are hoping to make a run in the region this year. One player Motes has been very pleased with going into this season is junior catcher Laila Parker.

 “This year we have our one and only senior Emma Johnson who will head things up from the pitcher circle,” Motes said “We have a couple juniors this year who will be the backbone of our team and one of them is our catcher, Laila Parker. 

“I am really excited about her this year. She has grown over the last few years and I feel like she is going to have a break out year. She is tough and an extremely hard worker and it will show from behind the plate this year.”

“As a catcher I help direct everyone during the game since I’m the only one that can see the whole field,” Parker said. “Off the field I model the behavior that is expected of all players while keeping team morale high. So far during pre-season everyone has shown up and is already showing improvement from last season.

“I am working on improving my position skills and so I can be what the team expects from me. Our strengths as a team are our communication and strong relationships on and off the field among the coaches and players.”