It has been a summer marked by strong senior leadership and an influx of talented freshmen for the Bremen High School softball team, which has coach Amy Addison feeling good about this fall and beyond.

Senior pitcher Taylor Yates gives the Lady Blue Devils a clear leader in the circle.

“She’s a good kid, great ballplayer,” Addison said.

Yates, center fielder Jenny Wright and catcher and shortstop Makenna Malone make up Bremen’s senior class, which Addison said set the tone for her many young players this summer.

“I’ve got some great senior leadership,” Addison said. “And that’s a huge, huge asset this year.”

A big junior class that is adjusting to upperclassman status is another promising development for the coach.

But one of the biggest elements of the summer was the large group of underclassmen who participated in summer workouts two or three days each week and took part in the Lady Blue Devils’ trip to a team camp in Covington. The group that was consistently at practices included 11 freshmen and four sophomores.

That sizable number of younger players and the talents they displayed this summer encourage Addison about the program’s future.

“I’m looking forward to good things out of them in the upcoming years,” Addison said.

She’s still optimistic about this year, too, as her team looks to build on its core of experience with the newer players.

“We’ve got a lot more speed this year than what we’ve had in the past,” Addison said.

Getting clutch hits will be an emphasis for Bremen, something the coach knows will start with a belief on the part of her players. She’s been working on getting them to transfer their confidence in the field to confidence at the plate, which she hopes will pay off this fall.

“That’s what we’ve been working on a whole lot this summer, key situations and how to do it,” Addison said.

And the way she sees it, the amount of time her girls were able to spend together this summer in practice and at team camp can only help them as the Aug. 18 season-opener approaches.

“We’ve had a very good bonding experience all summer long,” Addison said.