There are two philosophies anchoring the Warrenton softball team this season. 

The first is “Win Anyway.”

“A lot of these girls have a lot of things going on. They have everything that would go against them putting a winning record on the board, so we’re going to talk about ‘win anyway,’” Warrenton coach Chad Berrey said. “We’re going to get all the excuses out on day one, and then we have no excuses left.”

And the second – controllables. 

“You can control your attitude. You can control your effort,” Berrey said. “We always talk about this family atmosphere, and if we can’t bring our best effort and attitudes, we’re not really helping our sisters on the team.” 

Last season, the Warriors finished with an 8-16 record and were eliminated in the first round of districts. 

“From the outside, we’re expected to win and last year, we didn’t provide that experience that the community is used to,” Berrey said. “But I’m really excited with this group of girls. I don’t know if I’ve ever been more optimistic going into a season.” 

Warrenton has a total of 24 players with 18 of them on varsity. Although Berry typically prefers a deeper bench, he noted what the team lacks in numbers makes up for in quality. 

“This is the most versatile team I’ve coached,” Berrey said. “There’s not one position that I’m worried about. The girls have risen to the occasion.” 

For the first time in Berrey’s coaching tenure, Warrenton will not have a set lineup. Positions will be fluid and will depend on whose pitching and catching. 

The Warriors are loaded with pitching options, a rarity in Berrey’s 12 years coaching baseball and softball. Varsity will feature three pitchers, including Hannah Gibson and Ali Neidlinger as starters and Audrey Skillman as the go-to bridge pitcher. Junior varsity will have four additional arms. 

“We have a really good pitching staff and we have more depth with pitching this year,” senior Makayla Witthaus said. 

This year’s squad will be led by its four seniors – Witthaus, Caydynce Haverfield, Audrey Lanzone and Gracelyn Sitton. 

“They really know what we want before we have to say something. They can command the field from all different sides without us having to go on,” Berrey said. 

The Warriors are also solid at the plate and on the field.

“Our pitching and offense has been looking pretty strong as well as our defense,” Haverfield said. “We’re pretty strong all the way around.” 

Witthaus and Lanzone will provide some offensive punch for the Warriors. Witthaus hit four home runs last year and set a personal goal to break the single-season home run record of 14.

“Last year, (Witthaus) was hitting a (.438) average and coming into this season, it’s night and day, so I don’t know what the other team’s going to throw at her that's going to stop her from getting on base,” Berrey said. “(Lanzone) can do it all. She’s probably the most well rounded hitter we have.” 

Warrenton will begin its season at the Union Softball Tournament on Aug. 29.