Stephen Slezak, Campus Carrier asst. sports editor

The 2025 softball season has officially kicked off this past weekend. Berry took on Lagrange College in a doubleheader on Saturday where they won both of the games. Seniors Hannah Gore and Paige Bennett both won the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) players of the week. The Vikings are coming off a season where they made it all the way to a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Super Regional. In that season they finished with a record of 46-7, had a perfect conference record of 18-0 and won a SAA championship.

 Meredith Mills is entering her first year as head coach of the Vikings after previously coaching at Greensboro College. Mills led Greensboro to 28 wins and a conference championship appearance in her previous season. She is assisted by Rebecca Murray, who is also entering her first year at Berry after following Mills from Greensboro. The expectations from Mills for this year’s team are no different than the previous seasons.

“We return a strong core group, especially our pitching staff,” Mills said. “And numerous talented freshmen that will continue to help raise the bar for Berry Softball. The standard is to always compete at the highest level and that’s what we intend on this group doing this season.”

The Vikings return a strong pitching a core with veteran experience and proven contributors. Hannah Gore leads the pitchers as she returns for her senior season. Gore has a career earned run average (ERA) of 1.12 and has accumulated multiple All-American and All-SAA awards. Ava Fouts follows Gore as she had an incredible season last year for the Vikings. As a freshman, Gore won SAA pitcher of the year, SAA newcomer of the year and finished with a 2.04 ERA. The last veteran piece in the Vikings rotation is Casey Holloway. Holloway finished last year with a record of 11-1 and made the All-SAA first team. The pitching staff is also supported by players looking to build on a strong offseason that include Megan Rapillo, Avery Greeson and Burkley Barnes. 

“Our pitching staff top to bottom is impressive,” Mills said. “Hannah has grown tremendously since the fall, and I’m excited for the increase in innings she will get this season. With her mix of pitches and velocity we’re anxious to see her go to work. Ava is the true definition of a competitor. She is dialed in each and every pitch and we’re excited to see her bounce back off a stellar freshman season performance. Casey brings so much to our pitching staff with her ability to locate and control her insane drop ball.”

One of the biggest questions to be answered for this year’s Vikings team is how they will replace key players that are not apart of the team anymore. Morgan Frye, Katie White and Anna Jackson were all key pieces in the lineup for the Vikings last year who have since departed from the team.

“The lineup will look a bit different, but we have an insanely talented group of young ladies that will rise to the occasion,” Mills said. “We encourage them often to just be themselves and the rest will take care of itself.”

With the departures of some former seniors, Katie Parker is excited to see younger faces step into roles as she is now a senior.

“We have so many individuals that are now getting their chance to shine and watching them succeed and getting the support from their teammates is unreal,” Parker said. “We have such a positive and uplifting team. I love being a part of this program.”

 Parker also has high praise towards the new coaching staff.

“Both of our new coaches have been great additions to our program, they really want to help us succeed,” Parker said. “Coach Mills is really helping develop our pitching staff and leading our team in a positive way. Coach Murray is a hitting genius. She is spending her time with the hitters making us stronger and more discipline players.”

The Vikings start the season off with a unique non-conference schedule. They go on the road to Raleigh, North Carolina to play a six-game set and then follow it with two games in Florida.

“We play a really tough non-conference schedule,” Parker said. “I think those games over spring break will bring lots of energy and excitement to our team.”

A few more key returners for the Vikings this year include juniors Lauren Cothern, Elly Bennett, Latifa Madesko and Bradynn Belcher. Freshmen Kennedy Moody, Kensi Ody and Brooke Thompson have also received starts in their first series of the year.

The Vikings travel to Maryville College this Sunday for a doubleheader and then return home Feb. 21 against Alma College. Conference play starts March 22 at home against Hendrix College.