Sikeston's Kristin King fields a ground ball during outfield drills while teammates look on at a recent Lady Bulldog practice (Photos by David Jenkins, Staff)

SIKESTON -- Coming into her fifth season as the head coach of the Sikeston Lady Bulldogs softball team, Tiffany King has high hopes of what her new squad can accomplish.

"We look a lot better at this point than we did last year," said King. "We've got some young kids and right now we're just trying to find the right varsity mix."

King said she is looking for improvement throughout the year and said that her players have been playing the past few months on their respective summer teams.

"I can tell they've been working hard all summer," she said. "It's really positive overall with them being so young."

Returning with varsity experience are Emilie Martin, Krystal Henson, Courtney Collins, Kelsie Cooper, Sarah Hopson, Mary Deason and Sydney Davied. King said that Jamie Reed has put in a lot of hard work over the summer and said she will be fighting for time at first base. When not at first base, King said that Reed could fill in just about anywhere as a utility role player.

Krystal Henson

The Lady Bulldogs' only loss from 2007's squad was Kaitlyn Turnbow, who held down center field for King.

Key players to watch for are Martin, Henson, Hopson, Davied and Deason. Martin held down third base, Henson filled the role as everyday shortstop, Deason took care of catching duties while Hopson and Davied split time between the outfield and the pitching rubber.

"Henson has really improved offensively," said King. "And, her defense has really become confident over the summer."

Martin is coming off of a knee injury that she suffered during the spring soccer season.

"She's doing pretty good right now," said King of her third basemen. "She has her days where it bothers her more than others. Back-to-back games may be a little bit of a problem."

As for the pitching duo, King said that both have improved and are more ready for varsity play this season as sophomores. Deason, according to King, is ready to help lead the Lady Bulldogs after a year of varsity catching experience under her belt.

New faces this season are freshmen Elizabeth Raines, Kristin King and Sarah Childers. Raines will be backing up Deason behind the plate, King will be making her stop at second base and Childers will roam the outfield for Sikeston.

"They've come out and proved that they might want to see some varsity time," said King of the three freshmen.

Also new to the mix is Lisa James, who steps in as the new assistant coach.

"I think she's real energetic," said King of her new assistant. "She's always ready to help in any way possible. I think she'll be a good coach."

The Lady Bulldogs will once again be participating in the Notre Dame Tournament from Sept. 4-6. Sikeston has also added Oran to the schedule as well.

The season will kick off with a home opener on Aug. 25 against Farmington at 4:30 p.m.