Staff photo / Brian Yauger Chalker sophomore Morgan Strock slides into home during the team’s 18-1 season-opening victory over Bristol this past Tuesday. The Wildcats have a tough stretch of games this week featuring Lakeview, Poland, and Mathews.

SOUTHINGTON — It’s been a rollercoaster offseason for Chalker’s softball program.

Coming off the team’s first district title in nearly two decades, and a strong core of returners, the Wildcats were all ready to enter 2024 without missing a beat.

Unfortunately, a pair of injuries to starting pitcher Tatum Hudak and starting catcher Abby Grimm that will keep them sidelined for the season have altered the team’s plans.

That being said, the Wildcats have reinforcements in place. There’s no replacing Hudak or Grimm, but Chalker has talent with experience playing both positions stepping into the role.

Stepping into the circle and taking the reins this season will be the pairing of Gabby Hromada and Kelsey Kren taking the lion’s share of innings.

Both Julia Krukowski and Kylee Iser will see time behind the plate.

It’s not all new faces in new places however. Chalker returns four starters from last year’s team into the mix with some players who saw time last season stepping into expanded roles.

Highlighted by Gabby Nieves, who Hudak thinks is one of the best hitters in the state, Chalker’s returning group of Nieves, Kren, Ava Westenfelder, and Morgan Strock will be leaned on as the Wildcats get going this season.

While players are changing roles to account for injuries, they’re not going in blind. Both potential pitchers and both options at catcher have experience in those roles. While it’s obviously not the team’s plan A, it makes for a solid plan B given the situation.

“Obviously, like our catchers, it’s not their primary spot, and it might have been a few years since they’ve done it, but they do have some experience. It’s not like something completely brand new for them,” Chalker coach Rich Hudak said. “We’re not just starting from the ground up, so it does give some sense of relief. Just having them willing to be able to jump in and do that. It’s not one of those spots that everyone just wants to jump in and like, ‘Hey, I’m going to catch,’ but we’re grateful for that. We’ll see. We’re going to hopefully keep them healthy, keep working, and get better and better.”

The optimist may see a silver lining amongst the bad news. More players on the roster are going to have to get experience this year, and that growth potential can show itself when Hudak and Grimm return as juniors.

That’s the objective this season. Do as well as they can, and get some valuable experience along the way.

“We want to progressively get better as the season goes on,” Hudak said. “We’d love to contend for our league championship again this year and look to compete for that district title again this year, and hopefully further but that’s our goal, and that’s where we’re at. We’re obviously going to continue to get better and better and make our team better so that when our injured players come back, we’re that much better of a team.”

Chalker’s schedule this season is jam packed with challenges. Between an already daunting league schedule with teams like Mathews and Badger on the horizon, the Wildcats also have another matchup with Poland and a district finals rematch with Western Reserve.

A key of this team so far has been its resilience. Given the circumstances, the Wildcats could have melted down, but the adversity has only made them stronger.

“We’re resilient. These girls have been working really hard, getting in good conditioning and just becoming better teammates, getting better in the field, being asked to play in a position that maybe they’re not so familiar with, and just being able to help the team in whatever way they can,” Hudak said. “They won’t be able to just rely on the services of the ones that aren’t going to be able to play, and obviously, we can’t replace them, but others have to step up and step into those roles and lead in that fashion.”

Chalker opens its season on Monday with a home tilt against Bristol. Start time is set for 4:30 p.m.

Have an interesting story? Contact Brian Yauger by email at byauger@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @_brianyauger.