The Winman softball team made a splash last season, as it worked its way to an 8-6 record and earning its first playoff win in the program’s history.

Although the Warriors were eliminated by cross town rival Vets in the quarterfinals, they will be returning much of the same core from last year and are hoping to take another step forward toward a state championship. Winman has gotten off to a slow start, losing their first two games against Curtis Corner and Vets, respectively.

“We have much of the same core from last year back this year. We have a lot of eight graders, we have our pitcher from last year back in Julia Krause, I think (last years’ experience) is important, and I think that we’re just off to slow start,” said Winman coach Bob Chevian, who is happy to see his club be tested right out the gate. “Those were two good teams that we went up against. This Friday we are going to Western Hills and they’re good too. I think that this is a good thing though, facing three good teams at the start and giving the kids that experience … you get better when you face better teams.”

2019 marks the third season of softball at Winman after the introduction of middle school sports a few years back. Chevian, who has been at the helm for all three seasons, has seen progress each passing year and has been proud of the steps forward that the Warriors have taken.

“I have seen a lot of growth in this program, I’ve coached here since day 1 and I have seen a lot of growth. This group is the most self-sufficient group we have had. They show up every day, they work hard and they know what we have to do. My two eighth grade captains Sydnee Perreault and Marlee Walsh have done a terrific job of stepping up and making sure things are running well,” said Chevian.

Despite the slow start, Chevian is confident that the club will be able to turn things around and compete for a chance to make a deep postseason run.

“I think that we can make it just as far as last year,” said Chevian. “We’ve got a good core of players that are now another year older, I think we can make it to RIC, I really believe that we can. Consistency (will be the key), we have to be consistent.”