The Bonners Ferry High School Badgers Softball team is focused on fundamentals and team building this season with a roster of mostly freshmen and sophomores, but head coach Cynthia Sumpter said the goal is the same as always, to beat Timberlake. 

“I shouldn’t bluntly say it, but it’s the same goal as always,” she said. 

The group will be led by seniors Alaina Schmier, who scored 10 runs and hit a triple last season, and Jaydin Falck, who had a 0.340 batting average a season ago, including 18 hits, 14 runs and eight runs batted in.  

Falck also recently committed to playing softball at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Wash. next year. She’s the first college commit to play varsity ball under coach Sumpter.  

Both seniors take on a lot of responsibility to guide and motivate the younger players and keep morale high, Sumpter said. 

“Our seniors are both great leaders,” she said. “They have been with the program through all four years of high school. Their leadership will play a big role in our focus on team development. The underclassmen look up to them for guidance.” 

The team lost a few strong pitchers and fielders from last year. Sumpter said those will be big shoes to fill, but almost all the new players have previously been on Sumpter’s summer travel ball teams in previous years. A solid foundation exists, even though the team is young. 

The home opener is a double header against Lincoln County on the afternoon of March 29.  

The big calendar markers this season are April 25, a home double-header against Timberlake, and May 2, another home matchup against the Tigers. The winner of that three-game series will host districts.  

“Those are the biggest games of the season, so it’s nice to have those at home,” Sumpter said. “We have a lot more home games this year than we did last year. We just need the weather to be on our side.”