MARYSVILLE — The Marysville Getchell Lady Chargers fast pitch team is gearing up for the start of the season and hoping to make an impact in what is only their second season having a varsity softball program.

Practice began on Monday, Feb. 25, and the Chargers wasted no time getting out on the field, despite less than perfect weather, and focused on simply building their team.

“So far we are mostly getting to know one another as a team,” said head coach Mike Moran. “We do have a lot of new players on our varsity this year, so I think that the team chemistry part of it is going to be a huge part of what we do.”

There are only five returning letter earners and only one returning senior on the team.

“We’ve only got two seniors on varsity this year,” said Moran. “One of them is new to Getchell.”

The 2012-2013 season is only the second for the 3A school’s varsity athletics program.

“Last year was the first year for varsity sports and I think that skill-level wise we will be better this year,” said Moran. “How that equates to wins and losses is still to be determined. Our whole group is better, with their off-season work and overall knowledge of the program. We have some new additions to the team of freshmen and new players.”

The inaugural year for the Chargers’ fast pitch team was a bit rough, with only one win all season, against Mariner.

“I expect the team to have success this year,” said Moran. “It was a lot of learning how to compete at a varsity level. It was successful in that they did a lot of growing and learning about team unity, team chemistry and program unity. Now it’s time to take another step and improve on that. They did really great for the amount of experience they had.”

The team has not only been working on building camaraderie, but also improving their game skills  and showing some real promise.

“I think that Savannah Duce, our junior shortstop and pitcher, will be key for us,” said Moran. “Kymberlie Devlin, our pitcher, has improved her game greatly as well. We have a couple of newcomers too. Senior Kirsten Willis will be a big factor and Ashlin Severs is a freshman catcher that will be huge for us. I think that those four will make a big impact right away.

The Chargers will compete in their first game of the season against Granite Falls at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 11.

“Our first week will actually be to see if we can answer some questions about who we are and if we are headed in the right direction,” said Moran. “Granite Falls is a strong 2A team, and it will be fun to see them play. We are going to be able to play, learn and grow to compete as a part of the 3A North.”