Short term pain leads to long term gain. It’s the name of the game when you have a young team. The more you play together, the better you get together.

The youthful Plains Trotters open softball season play hosting the Ennis Mustangs for a doubleheader Saturday. The Trotters were originally scheduled to visit Three Forks Saturday but that game has been rescheduled to later this season, Plains coach Jon Zigler said.

The 2026 Trotters look to be a very young squad, Zigler offered pointing to the fact that 12 of his 20 current roster members are either eighth graders or freshmen.

“We expect to be experiencing a little bit of growing pains with such a young team,” Zigler said. "But we have been working hard in practice, getting some things figured out. We’re looking forward to a good season.”

Seniors Montana Taylor, Randi Kilgore, Taylor Saner and Maddie Carter, junior Claire Lakko, sophomore Kenna Miller, freshmen Cooper Spurr, Karissa French, Bri Kulawinski, Emery Josephson and Akasha Campbell and eighth graders Ginger Nestor, Kinley Josephson, Makayln Reinhardt, Nebel Hermsmyer, Mauriella Adams and Alliyah Bourke make up the current Trotter softball roster.

French, Saner and Emery Josephson have been named co-captains for the Trotters.

Zigler said Plains has plans to make a big day of it for the Trotters’ home opener Saturday, indicating that he has lined up an honor guard for the national anthem and that local youth softball players will also be recognized before the first game.

To top it all off, Zigler said that local dignitary Chris Allen, the mayor of the great city of Plains, will throw out the honorary first pitch to get things underway Saturday. The doubleheader with Ennis is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.