Wallace College softball coach David Russo realizes his team may go through some growing pains early this season, but he’s mighty excited about the potential of the club.
The Lady Govs open the season on Saturday by hosting Andrew (Ga.) College in a doubleheader starting at noon and more than half of the starting lineup could feature freshmen.
“Quite frankly, we have a pretty good chance that we’ll have six freshmen starting at any particular time,” Russo said recently at a JUCO Coaches Media Day luncheon sponsored by Encore Rehab.
Among the freshmen is Olivia Elliott, a right-handed pitcher who can also play first and third base. Elliott comes to Wallace from Baroda, Mich.
“She’s from a little bit up the road,” Russo said with a chuckle. “We used to play Lake Michigan College … they would always come down and play us in their spring break.
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“The college coach at Lake Michigan took a high school job and he loved the way we played. When he took the high school job, he said, ‘Coach, I’ve got a kid that’s going to be an impact player somewhere.’ He called me and we brought her down.
“I think she is going to be an impact player … a dual player. She’s a hard thrower who will be at the top of the rotation and can also hit, so we feel very fortunate to have her and I believe is going to make a big impact on our program.”
Two other freshmen who may have key roles on the team are local products Reagan Tomlin from Ariton and Joanna Marshall from Dale County.
“Look out for Reagan Tomlin from Ariton High School,” Russo said. “She has a strong chance to start at second base for us. She is a good, solid player … just the type of player that doesn’t make mistakes.
“She does everything she’s supposed to do on and off the field. To describe her with just one word, I would say steady.
“We have Joanna Marshall from right there at Dale County. She’ll be our centerfielder who can run like a deer. She’s a potential 40-stolen base person.”
Former Dothan High standout, Kate Hoseid, a sophomore, is another key player.
“Last year she was an all-conference left fielder for us, but she’s going to make the transition to shortstop this year,” Russo said.
Wallace has had success in recent years with Russo at the helm and it’s helped the program continue to attract top-caliber players.
“We’ve had a lot of good players that bought into the concept of our culture,” Russo said. “We’ve always had a team first mentality. We always try to take one game at a time.
“We’ve been very fortunate the last two years that we’ve been nationally ranked. Last year, I think we finished in the Top 25, so we’ve been very fortunate. It starts with the players. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten a hit.”
Russo was pleased with how the team performed during the fall season and believes a challenging pre-conference schedule coming up will test his team.
“We saw a big difference from Sept. 2 to the end of October … we saw a lot of great development,” Russo said. “I think there will be a lot of competition within our team for starting positions come conference time.
“We’re really excited about our pre-conference schedule. In February, we’re going to the National Preview tournament (Oxford, Al.). We’re playing all teams that have probably been in the college World Series within the last five years, so we’re really excited about that.
“We have a great balance between our sophomore and freshmen classes. We’ll take some growing pains early, because like I said, at any given time we may start six freshmen. But I like the make-up of the team and I’m excited about the season.”
