
GRANITE CITY - Granite City head girls softball coach Tim Wilson is excited for the 2026 spring season despite the opening 12-3 loss to the Collinsville's Kahoks.
"In the first game of the year, you're putting different pieces here and there, trying to figure out how it all works out, but the girls played really hard, stayed in it the whole time, didn't get down on themselves," Coach Wilson said. "We made some mistakes, but we did some good things. out there too."
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This year, there's only three seniors on the Granite roster, and it's till a young ball club, but there's still much to look ahead for.
"It's only the first ball game," Wilson said, "and they were nervous out there, you could tell. They made a few mistakes, especially in the batter's box, not being ready for game time speed. We're going to get better, we're going to improve, we're going to do the things we need to do in practice to improve those. The mental game seemed to be there, though. We made a few physical mistakes, but the girls hung in there; they did a good job."
Wilson also gave much credit to Collinsville's Aubrey Bordoni's performance inside the circle with 14 strikeouts.
"She did have a great game," Wilson said. "They played a tough game today; they had one game on us. All you could do was learn from your mistakes, praise your successes, and come back out and do better next time."
Wilson is also looking ahead to the season and is confident of an improved season for the Warriors.
"We're looking to see these youngsters come out of their shell," Wilson said, "and show us what they can do out on the field."
Granite City starts at 0-1, and next plays at O'Fallon on Thursday at 4:30 p.m., goes to Triad Mar. 20 at 4:15 p.m., then plays at Dupo Mar. 23 at 4:30 p.m.
