BERNE — The Lady Bulldogs are itching to get out of the house and onto the field.

An experienced Berne-Knox-Westerlo softball team is ready to make an appearance on the diamond this spring and looking to do it against some other teams.

BKW was scheduled to play at Middleburgh on Monday but the game was postponed. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play St. Johnsville on Wednesday and Stillwater on Thursday. BKW’s first home game is scheduled for April 13.
"We had some things scheduled," said new BKW Coach Mike Reynolds. "But we’ve not had the opportunity to play. Yesterday [Monday] was our first opportunity outdoors. The team is looking forward to playing out on the field and playing some ball."

Reynolds will be coaching the team this spring with Lori Leonard. Leonard is the cheerleading coach at BKW and will have a co-coaching role with Reynolds.

Experienced players

BKW has eight players returning on its 13-player roster. Seven of the eight returning players are seniors. One is a ninth-grader.

Keri Rossback, Danielle Thielsen, Katie Stanton, Caitlin Osterhout, Amanda Tubbs, Megan Leonard, and Tracy Williams are the returning seniors. Kieva Reynolds, the coach’s daughter, is the ninth-grader and will be the Bulldogs’ starting pitcher.

New to the team are Katrina Yakel and her sister, Lacy. Vicki Lounsbury, Vicki Gerard, and Ashley Fisher are also new additions to the varsity.
"All the girls have played before, whether it was varsity or junior varsity," Reynolds said. ‘Except for Ashley Fisher. She never tried out before. She is a great athlete and, once she learns the basic skills, she will get a lot of playing time. Her senior year, she finally came out for softball."

The experienced players the Bulldogs have will bode well for this season. But next year they will have to be replaced.
"We did leave some good players at the j.v. level," Reynolds said. "To develop a good program, you have to do that. We’ll have a number of younger players that will make up our team next year. But we have a good core in place. We are always looking toward the future. We have quite a few seniors and a lot of experienced players and that will help us a lot."
"Building on a good foundation"

Reynolds is just getting the feel for this team as they venture outdoors into the nice weather and prepare to take the diamond against competition
"We have some returning starters and a returning pitcher," Reynolds said. "We’ll go out and try some things. We want to better our record from last year. That’s our goal. We want to build on what other coaches have done. Coach [Jim] Lemire layed a good foundation for the future and we’re building on it."

Danielle Depeaux will be coaching the junior varsity team this spring. She has deep roots in the BKW program.
"She was a player for Cathy Allen," Reynolds said. "Cathy was instrumental in getting the field and putting the pieces in place. We are building upon it."

And Reynolds wants to continue to build interest in the program that Allen, who is a teacher and volleyball coach at BKW, made successful.
"Softball is the All-American game," he said. "It has been taking off in the last few years. Professional leagues are taking off. And they can be a part of that. When they have children of their own, they can come back and see that they played a role in moving the program along."

But the Bulldogs want to take the first step of stepping on the field this season.
"The girls are enthusiastic," Reynolds said. "They want to get out on the field. There is a lot of camaraderie and this is a tight-knit group. That’s a tribute to the girls, the school, and the parents. There is no in-fighting.
"They work regularly and help the coaches," Reynolds added. "They help with organizing practices and even picking up equipment after practice."

Duanesburg has been the class of the Western Athletic Conference for the last few years, but Reynolds sees that his team can compete with the top teams.
"Duanesburg is always the team to beat," he said. "I’m looking forward to playing them. We want to prove ourselves."

Reynolds is encouraging his players to compete in softball all year long instead of just playing during the school season.
"We want them to take part in local programs," the coach said. "We want them to play in the winter and summer and take advantage of the local softball leagues and have more opportunities to play.
"A lot of the successful teams have good feeder programs," Reynolds added. "Our modified coach, Maria North, has initiated softball into the Little League but, when they are 13, they can’t play. They have to play in other leagues and we are encouraging that."