Bazinsky Park has seen its share of softball through June.

Porters Chapel, St. Aloysius, Park Place Christian, Tensas and Tallulah Academies have played doubleheader scrimmages every Tuesday to prepare for a rapidly approaching season. PCA will face Tallulah and Tensas this week in a five-inning matchup.

PCA coach Amanda Yocum has worked with her young pitchers to get them up to speed and provide relief to Hannah Embry on the mound.

“We got a little sixth-grader and a ninth-grader pitching this year as well,” Yocum said.

Yocum rotated players as pitchers to get them out of the habit of relying only on Embry. The ninth-grader pitched 139 innings last season as PCA placed fourth in the MAIS South State playoffs and advanced to the overall state tournament. By the time they reached the bigger tournament, Embry’s arm ran out of gas.

Embry pitched three consecutive games in one day at the state tournament, and that led to her inability to get a pitch across the plate or throw fastballs. Establishing the younger pitchers has become one of the team’s top priorities.

“We wanted to work some other pitchers. We’ve been rotating a pitcher just about every inning. Most of the varsity players get two or three innings in and some of these JV players get two innings in. I think we have six seventh-graders this year,” Yocum said.

Yocum has also worked with her team to become better hitters, and being able to make contact on an inside or outside pitch.

“We spend a lot of time working on just hitting and tee work,” Yocum said.

Two of PCA’s power hitters will be absent when the season rolls around.

Raylee Barwick signed with Hinds Community College and second baseman Anna Beth Miler will miss the season with an injury. Miller was one of the team’s offensive sparks in 2015, with a .500 batting average, 23 stolen bases and 13 RBIs. Her injury forces Yocum to find players who can replace a pair of .500 hitters.

“We do a lot of tee work. Just a lot of muscle memory, placing the ball, inside and outside down the middle of the plate,” Yocum said. “And playing every Tuesday night doubleheaders, we’re getting to see pitchers from other teams.”

Yocum is anxious about the upcoming season that starts in August, mainly because of the team’s depth and ability to hit consistently. However, she has confidence in finding players who will step up.

“We can’t have a strikeout here and a double the next inning,” Yocum said. “I’d rather just have a single in every inning, at least put the ball in play. That’s where I’m a little bit nervous.”