For schools in the Mississippi Private School Association, fastpitch softball season begins this weekend and this year, two schools will be joining the fun.

Ben’s Ford joins Bowling Green as the two parish teams in action this fall. The two teams are in very different stages of program growth, but there is plenty of room for excitement in both.

Ben’s Ford is entering its first year of fastpitch competition and has a roster full of new faces, while the Lady Buccaneers return nearly everyone from their AA South State championship season last fall.

The 2008 Lady Bucs pause for a photo with their AA South State championship trophy. 1st row, from left: Mackayla Dykes, Beth Reedy, Cadie Robertson (the lone 2008 senior), Kelsey Knight and Callie Brock. 2nd row: Jasmine Lavigne, Danielle Sapia and Morgan Hembree. 3rd row: Peyton Thomas, Kaitlin Pierce, Jessica Raby, Whitney Crowe and Brittany Baughmann. Top row: Assistant coach Scott Prish and head coach Pat King. DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO Advertisement

Ben’s Ford head coach Katie Breland, who played for the first Lady Eagles softball team in 2005, said while her team is young she hopes to build a foundation for the future.

Her players will have a lot of adjusting to do from playing slowpitch in the spring. Breland said a lot of her players have played fastpitch before in summer leagues, but perhaps the biggest obstacle facing the Lady Eagles is an absence of pitchers who have pitched in fastpitch before.

Breland said her pitchers are adjusting well thanks to dedicated pitching coach Sonny Brown.

“He works one-on-one with them, getting their form right,” she said. “He’s taught girls all through the south, and he’s really good.”

Breland said the success of this season won’t necessarily be measured in wins and losses.

“I’d like to see them get their confidence level, first off. If we could get some wins under us that would be great for them,” she said. “We want to have fun, most of all, but we definitely want to learn something.”

The Lady Eagles need to look no farther than their in-parish neighbors to prove a young program can have success.

In five years, Bowling Green has compiled a .671 winning percentage and averaged 25 wins per season. The Lady Buccaneers have made the AA South State tournament every year and the AA State tournament every year but one.

BGS head coach Pat King, who has coached Bowling Green since the program’s first year, said his players and their parents deserve the majority of the credit.

“I’ve been blessed with a lot of good talent and a lot of parents that really take these kids in summer to individual workouts, hitting lessons, pitching lessons,” he said. “I’m very fortunate for the group of kids I do have.”

The program reached new heights last season, winning its first AA South championship.

The Lady Bucs lost only one senior from last year’s 23-11 squad, and every player will return from a potent lineup that hit .307 a year ago.

Mackayla Dykes led last year’s squad in batting average as an eighth grader, hitting a blistering .443. Whitney Crowe, one of three seniors on the 2009 squad, followed with a .396 average and also led the team in RBIs with 32 in 2008. Close behind was Kelsey Knight, also an eighth grader last season, with 29.

Knight also pitched in a few games, but will be looked on to pitch more this season along with Dykes.

Daniella Sapia, now a junior, pitched the majority of the team’s games last season and earned 23 of the team’s 34 decisions.

But King said this year he will spread the workload more evenly because Knight and Dykes will be more experienced.

While there are plenty of reasons to believe the Lady Buccaneers could have another outstanding season, King said he doesn’t have expectations any higher than normal. He said his team is approaching this year with the same focus as any other season. 

“The girls are just looking at it like they want to work hard and get even better,” King said. “There aren’t any that are just satisfied.”

The Lady Bucs kick off their season Saturday with an all-day tournament. Ben’s Ford will play a single game Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.

2009 schedules for local teams in MPSA fastpitch softball

Ben’s Ford

Aug. 1     Wayne         Home

Aug. 4     Prentiss    Home

Aug. 6     Prentiss    Away

Aug. 8    Heidelburg    Away

Aug. 11    Sylva Bay    Away

Aug. 22    Sylva Bay    Home

Aug. 25     Heidelburg    Home

Sept. 8    Wayne        Away   

Sept. 22    Lamar        Home

Bowling Green

Aug. 1     BGS Tournament

Aug. 3    OFA        Home

Aug. 4    Parklane    Away

Aug. 6    Silliman    Home

Aug. 8    Copiah Tournament

Aug. 10     Columbia*    Away

Aug. 11    Centreville    Away

Aug. 15    ASC Tournament

Aug. 17    Brookhaven    Away

Aug. 18    C. Hinds*    Home

Aug. 20     Parklane    Home

Aug. 22    Silliman Tournament

Aug. 24    ASC*        Away

Aug. 25    Columbia*    Home

Aug. 29    Parklane Tournament

Sept. 1     Brookhaven    Home   

Sept. 7    OFA        Away

Sept. 8    C. Hinds*    Away

Sept. 12    Veritas Tournament

Sept. 14    ASC*        Home

Sept. 21    WCCA        Home