CLERMONT, Fla. -- The Bates softball team gets the 2025 season underway Sunday in sunny Florida, when the Bobcats play the first two of 10 games this week. First pitch of the new season is set for 9 a.m. against Framingham State.

"The team is so pumped to get on dirt," head coach Kat McKay said. "The first game is going to be full of excitement, maybe some nerves, and for the coaches it's a chance to see all the work we've done with them come together."

For the second straight season, the Bobcats have just one senior. Senior Grace Householter (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) holds down the fort for the class of 2025.

"We call her 'Grace Hose-holter'", McKay said. "Because she has a hose. She can really make that throw to the plate from right field. We love the way she's been hitting in practice and we hope it carries over to the season."

With youth, comes a lot of potential, but also a renewed focus on fundamentals. 

"Our base running was a struggle last year," McKay said. "We had a lot of close games, where one bad inning cost us. With the pitching staff we have this year, if we run the bases better and smarter, I believe we're going to be way more successful this season." 

The Bobcats are led on offense by junior Emma Yen (Albertson, N.Y.), who came out of nowhere to hit .386 last season with a team-high 1.006 OPS (On-base Plus Slugging percentage). Her .449 on-base percentage ranked fifth in the NESCAC. She was also by far the team's best defender in the field, playing excellent defense at both second and third base. Yen entered play on April 10, 2024 with one career hit in one and a half seasons as a Bobcat. She finished the year on a 26-46 rampage, hitting safely in 14 of her last 16 games. She was named First Team All-Region, First Team All-State, and Second Team All-NESCAC.

"Emma likes to perfect her craft," McKay said. "She put a lot of hours in and really learned how to slap, power hit, and use her speed. It was exciting to see what she did last year."

Another player who surprised last year, more so with her highlight plays in the field, is sophomore Zariya Anderson (Wayzata, Minn.), who was recruited to Bates as a catcher. But by the time the season ended, Anderson was wowing fans with her plays in center field.

"She should have been on ESPN SportsCenter multiple times last year," McKay said. "Watching her progress, and seeing what else she can do besides play catcher, she is a phenomenal athlete. We were trying to figure out how to get her bat in the lineup, and center field ended up working out best."

In the circle, junior captain Delaney Rankin (Harrison, Maine) returns to lead the pitching staff. Rankin impressed in her second year as a Bobcat, improving in nearly every statistical category in the circle. She pitched 112.1 innings and finished the year with a 3.37 ERA. Rankin struck out 83 batters on the season while appearing in 18 games for Bates, with 16 starts on her way to earning Second Team All-State honors.

"Delaney has one of those work ethics where she'll always give us 100 percent of whatever she has," McKay said. "We have some young pitchers who I hope look to her and follow her example." 

The Bobcats will also lean on sophomore Isabella Albro (New York City), who started 15 games in the circle as a rookie. Plus, three of the four first-years are pitchers as well.

Junior shortstop Ella Maher (Newton, Mass.) and sophomore catcher Isabel Bettencourt (Peabody, Mass.) join Rankin as team captains this year.

"I ask my team, 'who do you want as a leader?' and these three names came up over and over again," McKay said. "These three just exemplify hard work, communication, and dedication to the program."

McKay is in her third season at the helm of the program, having won 24 games over the course of her first two years.

"We're going to be exciting to watch this season," McKay said. "These athletes genuinely love each other and I hope that the chemistry off the field carries onto the field, and I believe it will."