WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University softball team kicks off their 2025 campaign this weekend at the FastPitch Dreams Spring Classic in Myrtle Beach S.C., looking to build off their winningest campaign under head coach Jackie Klahold '15 M.S. who enters her sixth season at the helm.

"We're very excited to get going and hit the road this weekend," Klahold said of the energy around the team with the season just on the horizon.

The Colonels finished the 2024 season 21-15 overall with a 7-9 record in Landmark Conference play.  The 19-woman roster is made up of four seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and eight first years.

Hannah Boyd (Escalon, CA/Escalon) and Kayla Burleson (West Chester, PA/B. Reed Henderson) headline the senior class, tied for the third-most RBIs on the team last season. They are joined by pitcher Bella Peters (Lancaster, PA/Penn Manor) and infielder Evan Sherrick (Lancaster, PA/Hempfield) in a senior class providing leadership and experience for the team.

The junior class is led by reigning Landmark Conference pitcher of the year Lauren DeMarco (Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun), after finishing last season with a 10-3 record and an ERA of 1.00 with 85 strikeouts across 98.1 innings. She was also named to the All-Landmark First Team for her efforts. She is joined by Hana Cross (Kendall Park, NJ/South Brunswick) and Olivia Dougher (Scranton, PA/West Scranton), who were both named to the All-Landmark Second Team last season. Cross brought power at the plate for Wilkes with a conference-leading 12 home runs, a 1.080 OPS and 25 RBIs, all team-highs. That trio is joined by infielder Maddy Maloney (Scranton, PA/West Scranton), who spent two years at Lackawanna College.

Mia Butka (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) returns after being named to the All-Landmark Second Team leading the sophomore class. Butka had the best batting average of any returning player last season (.333), with 28 hits, 16 RBIs and three home runs. She also made 11 appearances in the circle with 31 strikeouts. Infielder Victoria Butler (Mountain Top, PA/Crestwood) and utility player Julia Kapitula (Mount Olive, NJ/Mount Olive) also saw significant playing time in their first year and will look to improve this season.

"They're very excited to hit the road running," Klahold said of the returning players. "They want to prove that last year wasn't a fluke, but they also know this is a new year and there's going to be more film, more stats, and more charts on them. They're looking to adjust the game and finish what we weren't able to finish last year unfortunately."

The Colonels welcome eight first years to the program, providing depth in many positions across the field. Tessa Stafursky (Eynon, PA/Valley View) and Alexa Stahl (Montoursville, PA/Montoursville Area) will be new faces at pitcher and in the outfield alongside Brylie Ketterer (Birdsboro, PA/Twin Valley) and Dana Messner (Oley, PA/Oley Valley). Wilkes also welcomes three new faces behind the plate as well in Allyson Stafursky (Eynon, PA/Valley View), Talia Piragas (Old Forge, PA/Old Forge), and Paige Randazzo (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg). Abby Cruz (Dallas, PA/Dallas) will join the infield group to round out the Colonel roster.

"It's been very seamless," Klahold said of the newcomers' integration into the team. "When you have that many new faces, you kind of have that expectation of 'How is this going to work? How are they going to gel?' and those returners have been welcoming them and really practicing well together. I think they really just want to get back out there since our play day and have some fun and play softball."

Following the team's inaugural season in the Landmark Conference, Klahold spoke on what the team is taking into this campaign and beyond.

"We know what we have. We know what our strengths are and where our challenges lie, and it's about going with those strengths that we have and continuing to pick each other up," she said. "Nobody is going to take Wilkes for granted and go, 'Go ahead and give them the win.' [the team] has to fight their way through inning one through inning seven, and they are prepared for that."

Wilkes kicks the season off this Sunday at the FastPitch Dreams Spring Classic, starting the eight-game week against Mary Baldwin University at 9:00 a.m.