The Beatrice Softball team is currently in between season, and instead of warming up for games, they’re warming up for their workouts.

“The last season started out strong and everyone worked together very well,” softball coach Tiffany Higgins said. “But then midway through the season we had our defense kind of fall apart, and we couldn’t keep a lead against other teams.”

“It was our offense that carried us and kept us in the game,” she added. “Well that, and the fact that we hit the ball really hard. We try to make that our best strength and quality we look for – hitting the ball really hard.”

The softball season started on Friday, Feb. 15, and ended on Thursday, May 9.

The team only played 23 games because of the weather conditions.

“Usually, we play around 42 games,” Higgins commented. “I mean, two years ago, we started playing in January.”

Fifteen girls played last season and two school records were broken: stolen bases and batting average.

Kamie Fuller broke both of those records. The previous stolen bases record was set in 2011 by Britteny Murdoch with six stolen bases.

Fuller surpassed that record when she wrapped up the season with 16 stolen bases. She also broke the school’s batting average.

The school’s batting average record was a .280 in 2011 according to the Southeast Community College Athletics website.

Fuller’s batting average was recorded a .500 according to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

Fuller hit her balls over 50 percent of the time and is in the Top 25 batting average in the Nation.

“She played almost every game this season,” Higgins said. “She was originally a pitcher and a third baseman, but since she is left handed, we put her on second base so she wouldn’t have to spin in a circle every time to get the ball to one of her teammates.”

Amanda Rasmussen was a home-run leader throughout the season and hit a total of four home-runs, but she was closely followed by Hayley Carlsen, who hit three home-runs.

“It’s different working with a two-year college than it is a four-year college,” Higgins said of comparing her experience at Doane College with coaching at SCC. “You worry about a lot more when it comes to recruiting because you only have two years until you need more girls to play on your team.”

Higgins has only seven girls returning next season, and she currently has three more signed to play.

She plans to recruit about five to seven more girls.

Higgins already has a Rachel Zelinsky, a pitcher with a secondary position as an outfielder, and her twin, Nicole Zelinsky, who is a first baseman with a secondary position as a pitcher.

Joli Garbrs, another recruit, is a utility member of the team and will fill in anywhere she is needed.

Higgins is still looking to bring in two more girls for a pitcher spot, one or two catchers and a couple of out-fielders.

Higgins will be visiting a couple of tournaments in Colorado in July to look for more recruits.

One tournament called Sparkler is in Aurora, Colo., and the other, called Fireworks, is in Boulder, Colo.

Higgins laughed and said, “Instead of going to 15 different states to find people to recruit, I can see them all in one state. It’s pretty nice. Heck, I remember playing in those tournaments so it’s nice to go back.”