The 2005 Fayette County High School Lady Tiger varsity softball team is not like the team that won the state championship three years ago. While there are some players that were around that squad, none of the major contributors to that team's success remains. The team does have a sense of what it takes to be champions though and Coach Jill Joiner is seeing her girls excel in their attitude and work ethic in order to live up the reputation of the program.

Joiner sees this year as a rebuilding year but adds that while the team is not as strong as in years past, their main weakness is a lack of depth on the bench.

There are three senior starters back for the Lady Tigers this year. They are center fielder Ebony Baitey, shortstop April Wadr and Tori Owen, an outfielder last year who may be the team's main catcher this fall. The three girls accounted for 51 of the team's hits last year and are being counted on to provide senior leadership this year. The only other returning starter is junior pitcher Caroline Teubl, who spends time in the infield when not on the mound. Teubl went 7-4 with a 1.36 ERA last season. She will be joined by sophomore Britt Hammel-Cobb who pitched in three games last year and went 2-1 with an ERA of 0.70.

The rest of the team is made up three seniors and a junior, all new to the varsity program, and a sophomore and a freshman. While Joiner considers the team rookies as far as varsity goes, the majority of the team plays softball year round on club teams. Joiner feels they are working as hard as any team she has coached in her 25 years of coaching.

Fayette County will open the season next weekend in the Sandy Creek tournament at McCurry Park. After that, they will face their rivals, the Lady Chiefs, at McIntosh on Aug. 31.

The 2005 season should be an interesting one for Fayette County and their fans. They may not be considered a powerhouse now but they will play hard until the final out.