Greene County High School head softball coach Tom Kennedy paid attention last week when Governor Reynolds announced there would be high school softball and baseball in Iowa this summer. When the two governing bodies of Iowa high school sports set June 1 as the start of practice and June 15 as the start of competition, the coach had firm dates instead of speculation.

Now, just days away from the first practice, the veteran coach talked with Raccoon Valley Radio about the upcoming season, starting with his reaction to being able to play. “I was shocked, pleasantly. It was a surprise because I was coming to terms with not playing this year. I’m really happy for the girls, especially our seniors. We’ll need to be disciplined and follow the guidelines to keep everyone safe & healthy.”

Three seniors who lettered last season return in Greene County students Izzy Bravard and Tieryn Tucker, along with Paton-Churdan student Kyla Beyers. All three are infielders. Others coming back who played prominent roles in 2019 during the Rams’ 10-20 season are freshmen pitcher Emma Hoyle, freshman catcher Emma Stream, freshmen Olivia Shannon in the outfielder, junior Karissa Stephenson, also in the outfield, and sophomore infielder Carmyn Paup. Others will be counted on to step in. Stream, Stephenson, and Paup, are P-C students, while the others are Greene County students.