Softball to get underway Feb. 5

By Sam Waller

Albany’s Lady Lions hope to get back to making a long playoff run after last two softball seasons ended earlier than expected.

The 2020 season was cut short and playoffs scrapped because of the pandemic. Last year saw the Lady Lions make an early exit with a bi-district loss to Anson.

This year, coach Jimmy Fuentes is looking to make up for lost opportunities.

“We’ve got a good group of seniors, and they’ve had to deal with adversity throughout their careers with COVID and getting seasons cut short,” Fuentes said. “I’d like to see the seniors finally have some some playoff success. We’ve had them in the program for three years now, and it’s been a unique situation.”

The biggest issue, Fuentes said, is a lack of postseason experience.

Albany is coming off an 11-10 season in 2021, finishing second in District 8-2A.

The Lady Lions get their first taste of competition Saturday, Feb. 5, with a three-team scrimmage at Snyder. Albany will take on Snyder and Brownfield starting at 10:00 a.m.

Albany opens the season Feb. 15 at home against the Abilene Cooper JV. The first three weekends will be taken up with tournaments at Eastland, Stephenville, and Clifton. The Lady Lions open district play on March 15, with district games against Cisco, Eula, Cross Plains, Gorman, and May.