Youth won’t be wasted on the young with this year’s Warren Central softball team.

Warren Central lost a senior class of six key contributors and returns little from last year’s group, but a ton of youngsters are ready and able to contribute.

For a downloadable Warren Central fastpitch softball schedule, click here

But two of the seniors who return give the Lady Vikes a chance to have another special season.

Ace pitcher Andi Hearn and veteran catcher Mandy Fuller give WC coach Dana McGivney a battery as formidable as any in the area.

“That’s a good start in fast pitch,” McGivney said. “But we’re going to be bringing in six or seven new starters. We haven’t even decided who’s starting. Our biggest concern is just getting them used to playing together and knowing what the other one is capable of. Every day, we work on fundamentals.”

The Lady Vikes will have a new center fielder, a new shortstop and two new corner infielders. Shelbi Conerly is the third returning starter at second base. Connerly hit .298 last season and scored 13 runs.

As for the pitcher-catcher combination, the Lady Vikes are in good hands.

Hearn is a steady force in the circle with a profusion of pitches to mystify opponents, while Fuller is what McGivney calls her “coach on the field.”

Fuller was also the team’s best hitter last season, with a .403 average, 21 RBIs, four home runs, six doubles and 24 runs scored. One key factor that shows how much trust McGivney has in her catcher is that she leaves calling pitches and the team’s defensive alignment to her senior leader.

Hearn took over as the Lady Vikes’ top pitcher last season and produced an 8-6 record with a 4.50 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 80 innings worked. She was also neck-and-neck with Fuller at the plate. She hit .351 with 17 RBIs, two home runs, five doubles and three triples.

“It’s good to have the familiarity and I know what she can and can’t pitch,” Fuller said. “Playing with her for 10, 11 years helps, I promise.”

One thing that will help the Lady Vikes score more runs is that their overall team speed this season has improved. The key will be getting runners on base and being able to move them into scoring position.

“Any time in fast-pitch, if you can get a runner on base, you need to be able to move them,” McGivney said. “Be it a bunt or a long ball, whatever you need to score the runner because runs are so few and far between.

“We’ve really worked on bunting and I’ve told them that, one through nine, that we all need to be able to bunt. If they can’t bunt, I don’t want them to play. We should be a lot faster than last season.”

The Lady Vikes started practice on a chilly Jan. 8 as 22 individuals, but McGivney is pleased that her charges are starting to come together as a team, especially as they count down the days until Friday’s season-opener at Vicksburg.

“The closer we get to the season, the harder they start working,” McGivney said. “The more they see that it can happen, they start believing in themselves and each other. They’re getting excited. We’re all getting excited. At first, I was thinking we were going to be really young and I was worried, but the more I’m with them, the more we work, we’re going to be fine.

“We have talent, it’s just a matter of them doing the work for them to go where we want to go. They’re not satisfied with just making it to the playoffs. They want to move through the playoffs.”

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Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@vicksburgpost.com.