The Portal Panthers are anxious to get back to the softball postseason and head coach Travis Motes doesn’t have a lot of senior leadership.

Motes is happy he has at least one senior in pitcher Emma Johnson who is more than willing to lead on and off the field.

“Emma is our only senior and is going to carry the team in the circle,” Motes said. “She has an extremely hard work ethic and leaves it all on the field. She sets the tone for all the underclass to follow. Emma has high expectations for herself and the team this year.  I’m excited to see how she will excel.”

 “My role on the team is to lead,” Johnson said. “Looking back on my previous years playing we had so many hardworking and talented teammates that I looked up to. Now I am the only senior and I want to carry on the torch and pass it down to the next generation of portal softball players.

“Our team has worked tremendously hard during summer workouts getting ready for the season. Many of our teammates played summer travel ball against stiff competition to help keep us sharp. I am extremely proud of how hard our Lady Panthers have worked and gelled as a team.”