The Columbus Wildcats are ready to throw the first pitch of a new softball season, looking build on a solid 2023 campaign that included finishing an overall record of 11-10 and a fourth-place finish in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North.

In addition to replacing all-conference players like Sera Vela and Jocelyn Fulton, Columbus will have to wait on the return of all-state-caliber infielder and pitcher Lily Coil as she rehabs a lower-body injury.

The junior’s .623 batting average was third-best in the state across all classes, and Coil was only getting started from there, piling up eight doubles, five triples, three home runs, 24 runs batted in, 34 runs scored and 24 stolen bases.

There are other strong hitters coming back for the Wildcats, like freshman Ellie Sanders, who hit .421, drove in 12 runs and scored 24 times in her debut season.

Sophomore Kennedy Woepking also returns after batting .322 with four doubles and 11 RBI. New Columbus head coach Dustin Traylor tells KCII Sports that, much like last season, youth will be served.

“We have no seniors this year,” Traylor says. “We have eighth-graders coming up [and] we have a lot of freshman and sophomore experience that we’re going to relay on heavily while Lily’s out, and hopefully she can return and give us a boost later on.”

A combination of Woepking and Coil, once healthy, will lead the pitching staff for the ‘Cats. Columbus begins the new softball season Wednesday night by hosting Washington. You can hear the Wildcats take on the Demons on 106.1 FM KCII and streaming on KCIIradio.com and the KCII app starting with pregame at 7 p.m.