Apr 7, 2017 3 min read

With a reconfigured infield that includes two new full-time starters, Canon-McMillan High School softball coach Michele Moeller had one thing on her early season wish list.

She was hopeful that the restructured unit would improve, slowly if need be, with continued repetition of infield practice rather than being thrown into the fire of in-game experiences.

The only repetition Moeller and the Big Macs have experienced is walking into the C-M gymnasium to field ground balls on a hardwood court.

Three Class 6-A Section 1 games into its season, after arriving home following two contests in North Carolina, Canon-McMillan (2-1) has not had that much-needed outside practice because of inclement weather.

“We had a defense that had played together pretty much for two years and had the experience of playing as a unit,” Moeller said about last year’s team that shared a section title with Baldwin.

“We’ve played games on our field but haven’t been able to get that repetitive work. Games have been strung together because of rescheduling. All of our practice days have been relegated inside. It’s unfortunate but there are probably a lot of teams in this situation. It’s definitely a growing experience.”

The learning-on-the-job defensive mentality has simply given way to what has been a much simpler strategy for the Big Macs over the years: outscoring opponents by knocking the cover off the ball.

Cold weather doesn’t mean cooler bats for C-M, which after being shut out in both games during its North Carolina trip has scored 51 runs in section games.

“Hitting breeds more hitting,” Moeller said. “It’s contagious.”

The infectious Canon-McMillan lineup has 10 players with batting averages of at least .400, and five players have five or more RBI in only three games. The current Big Macs are trying to outdo a lineup last year that featured current Drexel University freshman Linda Rush. A first team all-state selection three times in her Canon-Mac career, Rush hit an incredible .718 with 13 home runs and 42 RBI last season.

“We’ve had quite a few players that were hard to lose over the few years,” Moeller said. “Linda was one of those. She was a dominant player. You don’t see talent like that on a daily or even a yearly basis. You can’t replace a player like that, but you try to fill that gap as much as possible.”

Helping to fill that void is senior Brittney Crawford, an Observer-Reporter All-District team selection last year after hitting .414 with a .474 on-base percentage.

Returning leadoff hitter Kayla Hopkins and juniors Kylah Kubiczki and Katelyn Greaves fill out the well-balanced Big Macs lineup. Greaves was second on the team in RBI with 23, and Hopkins and Kubiczki each hit for an averagebetter than .450.

“I can tell that they are able to let some of that pressure go and enjoy the moment,” Moeller said about the Big Macs trying to compensate for early fielding mistakes. “I don’t see the tightness from them yet. They enjoy walking into the batter’s box and just being able to play the game.

“There are ebbs and flows to every season and we will have that. Hopefully, we will put ourselves into playoff contention. This team is definitely capable of being in the hunt for another section championship.”