Mickie Terry-Snead is talking about the Notre Dame Academy softball team while being about as far away from her squad as possible.
“We’re trying to make a run this year,” the coach said of last season’s Ninth Region tournament semifinalist.
The Pandas were eliminated by a single run last year in a loss to eventual tournament runner-up Highlands. The Bluebirds are the returning regional favorites.
Notre Dame lost five seniors from last season’s crew, including its No. 1 pitcher. The Pandas also made a head-coaching change, bringing in Terry-Snead, a former Notre Dame softball player.
“I think we’ll surprise people,” said Terry-Snead, a 2013 graduate and a former NDA student of the month. “We have a solid team.”
The girls made news with a four-game winning streak while outscoring the opposition 53-9. The early-season conquests include a victory over returning Ninth Region tournament qualifier Newport Central Catholic, 9-2. The Pandas took down 32nd District champ Grant County, 6-3. Notre Dame also shut out Holmes, 17-0, and rolled past Ludlow, 21-4.
These are some decisive outcomes. And the head coach is all in on playing up the Pandas even if she’s thousands of miles away.
“I don’t mind talking about the team,” Terry-Snead said by telephone literally from the other side of the planet. “I’ve always got time to talk about the team.”
The first-year coach is eager, and she’s in New Zealand for a wedding planned long ago. This puts her roughly 8,500 miles away from the Notre Dame campus.
A round trip from northern Kentucky to New Zealand by plane is about 7% of the way to the moon. The lunar orb is also in the news these days thanks to Artemis II. The mission represents the first time humans have returned to the vicinity of the moon in over 50 years.
Likewise, Terry-Snead is over the moon about her Notre Dame softball team.
“The biggest thing is, we’re hitting the ball,” the coach said of the .322 team batting average. “We have a lot of moving parts right now and the girls have done a good job with that.”
The Pandas hit .299 last season, so they are moving up with the bats. Winners in four of their first six games, they are led by shortstop Addi Zinser. She hit .550 in the first three weeks of play.
“I love our team chemistry. We all get along pretty well,” Zinser said. “We don’t have a lot of older girls but the young players have really improved and that helps.”
Sophia Gerkin, a seventh-grade revelation, is hitting .429. She’s followed by freshmen Rosemary Kunkel (.389) and Clara Von Hoene (.385), sophomore Annie Lawrie (.375) and senior Brigid Zekl (.313).
The Pandas have four sophomores, five freshmen and three middle schoolers. That represents three-quarters of the roster.
Zinser, one of just two juniors, led the team in extra-base hits and RBI and did not strike out in her first 25 plate appearances. Senior Sydney Sheely led the team in bases on balls and was a perfect 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts.
“Zinser is disciplined at the plate and that’s what we’ve been working on,” Terry-Snead said. “Sheely is fast and plays center field.”
While the bats have come alive, the Pandas’ pitching has surpassed expectations. Notre Dame is one of many local teams looking to rebuild in the circle following graduation losses. Last year, the Pandas had just two hurlers who logged statistics, graduated workhorse Abby Turnpaugh and returning junior Lucy Dillon, who’s been friends with Zinser since third grade.
“I’m really proud of Lucy going from not really pitching to pitching all the time,” Zinser said. “She’s made a ton of improvements.”
Turnpaugh turned in a heroic 1.66 ERA while pitching in all but one game last season. Dillon posted an ERA of 7.00 in that one game covering five innings.
This season, Dillon has turned some heads by turning in a Turnpaugh-like 1.86 ERA after her first seven appearances. Dillon started 4-3 and could easily have been 5-2 in those seven games. She’s been a whiff machine, striking out 67 batters in her first 37 innings pitched.
“We don’t need another Turnpaugh,” Terry-Snead said. “With Lucy, we just need her to be her. She was nervous her first game against Ryle, a good hitting team. We lost (15-0) because we didn’t hit. But she’s been a lot better since then.”
The next time out, Dillon five-hit Tates Creek in a 3-2 loss. Just one other pitcher, eighth grader Emily Krallman, got into a game the first three weeks for the Pandas. So, it looks like it’s ride or die with Dillon.
“Lucy has stepped up very big for us,” Terry-Snead said. “She’s very determined and she’s effective. I think her change-up is looking really good. She hits her spots and works the corners.”
Also stepping up for Notre Dame is another former Panda, Laura Finke. A one-time teammate of the head coach, she is one of four assistants. She led the team for four games while Terry-Snead was in New Zealand. The Pandas went 3-1 with the victories over Grant, Holmes and Ludlow.
Like the head coach, Finke also admires Dillon’s determination, especially after seeing her one-hit Holmes and striking out 10 in five innings. Dillon threw three no-hit innings while striking out the side three times for a total of nine Ks in the four-inning blowout of Ludlow.
“Lucy’s a quiet kid but she’s tough,” Finke said. “She’s filling big shoes in her own way and growing in knowledge and confidence.”
Growth is key for this young Notre Dame team. If the bats keep bashing and Dillon blossoms into a bona fide star in the circle, the Pandas could flower into a power come postseason.