Lady Vandals Insider: Plenty of players available for softball team

VANDALIA – It’s hard to say if the Lady Vandals will ever have a true group of regular starters this season.

With some 15 players who have proven they deserve playing time, coach Brian Buscher has employed several different lineups already this spring to give as many players as possible the chance to get on the field.

“We’ve basically played 14 players, and Kylie Sellers will hopefully be back next week, so that’s 15 in the rotation,” Buscher said. “The girls will have be patient.”

Buscher said before the season that it was likely that he would have more players who deserve playing time than spots available on the field, and the early play of several players has made that problem even bigger.

Players such as seniors Caitlin Alverson and Brittany Anspach, and sophomore twins Ashley and Kelsey Swain have all played well in limited roles this spring, and Buscher is hoping to find creative ways to get all of them fair playing time.

“We might see more players playing half of a game,” Buscher said. “Maybe, we’ll put someone in for defensive purposes and another person in for some at-bats.”

Rust free

Prior to the season, Buscher described senior Austyn Krueger as a someone who would just need to “get the rust off” before she would become a productive player in her first year of play since moving to Vandalia as a sophomore.

And if last Friday’s performance is any indication, she’s gotten that rust off.

Krueger hit two doubles against Pana, raising her average to .300.

“In her third at-bat, she asked, ‘Why I am hitting it to right all the time?’” Buscher said. “I said, ‘Quit overthinking it. You have two doubles, just keep doing what you are doing.’

“She played a lot when she was younger, and she definitely makes us better.”

Switched up

Senior Amber Bruno started at a new position against Breese Central last Wednesday, shifting from shortstop to third base.

Krueger filled in at shortstop, and Buscher said that the switch makes the defense stronger.

“Amber is better going to her left than her right,” Buscher said. “Austyn is athletic, and we figured if we could play her at short, we could move Amber to third.”

Bruno was tested right away, fielding all three outs in the first inning.

Krueger struggled in her first game at shortstop, but last Friday, she made six plays there, while committing just one error.

“It’s the right thing to do right now, and we will see how it goes,” Buscher said.