Standing all of five feet, one inch, freshman infielder Sydney Delfelder is not typically known for her power. Delfelder took no mind to this, smacking a ball over the head of Shawnee Mission South’s center fielder, and used her speed to turn the play into a lead off homerun for the Lions, in the first at-bat of the their home opener.

Delfelder immediately knew it was a good hit, but was not initially aware of how well she got ahold of it.

“I knew that our offense needed to start on a good note, so all I thought about was a solid base hit,” Delfelder said. “As I picked up Coach Riley’s signal halfway to second, I knew the game was going to be amazing.”

The Lions carried this momentum for the rest of the game en route to a 23-0 victory.

After posting an even record at 10-10 last year, in Riley’s first season, the Lions anticipate many more victories of this degree behind their strong batting.

“We are a much more offensively strong team,” sophomore third base Karly Johnson “We have a lot more strong bats.”
Featuring a lineup of veteran experience and youth energy, the team has demonstrated great poise in the early parts of the season, far ahead of where they anticipated being at this point.

Head coach Nicole Riley was quick to attribute their success to the ability of their young players to adjust to the varsity level quick.
“Our youth has filled in some key positions on the infield, and they have done a great job learning how we do things.” Riley said.
The veterans of the team, lead by senior pitcher Zoe Brewer, have additionally contributed to the success of the team.

Brewer, a Baker University commit, has averaged eight strikeouts per game, and was recently named Hy-Vee Athlete of the Week.
Brewer’s standout performance of the season came in the season opener against Shawnee Mission Northwest, in which she had 11 strikeouts and no walks.

While the youth add the power and excitement to the lineup, the seniors add a chiseled defensive integrity that proves to strike a strong balance for the season.

Starting the year with two strong wins, the Lions are proud of their progress but still acknowledge what it will take to be a successful team in the postseason.

“We need to maintain our positive energy that we have right now and talk on the field and keep making plays,” Delfelder said.