The Newton Lady Rams softball program entered this offseason with purpose in the second year under head coach Erica Johnson.

Last season was the first for the Lady Rams under Johnson and the team saw a few bumps on their way to a 10-18 record. However, Newton finished fourth in Region 4-AAAAAA to secure the program’s first playoff spot in two years.

Now with more familiarity with the team and its strengths, Johnson and the Lady Rams hit the basepaths running as soon as last year ended.

“Last season I got here late so I didn’t have time to prepare like I wanted to prepare. On top of that, I was getting to know the players from the previous years and getting old routines out and starting new routines,” Johnson said. “This year, I pretty much got my routines together, we started early. We started as soon as the season ended last year — we were in the weight room. Then we solidified some new coaches this year. With that being said, we are going in a positive direction this year.”

Although Johnson is more used to the team now, the Lady Rams will have a few positions to fill for this upcoming season.

Two of those spots belonged to former seniors Tiara Moody and Zaikerryia Smith, who both batted north of .300 last season and finished No. 2 and No. 3 on the team in hits.

The player that finished above both Moody and Smith in hits is upcoming senior Aaliyah Parsons, tore the cover off the ball last year as a junior.

Whether it was batting average, runs batted in, hits, doubles, triples, home runs or on-base percentage — Parsons led in almost every statistical category.

This February, Parsons received an offer from Johnson C. Smith University.

Johnson expects Parsons to take an even bigger step up this season and it starts with her approach at the plate.

“Last year I really didn't know what to expect from her[Parsons],” Johnson said. “She does have a good stick. This year I feel like she has put in more work. We’ve been intentional on situational [hitting] at the plate. Knowing the different signs, knowing what to do when people are on base. She plays a lot of ball, and she actually goes from here and practices on her own with a lot of hitting. She is going to be very key this year.”

Johnson also noted how Parsons has embodied the leadership role alongside fellow senior Leilani Garcia. For Johnson, what makes the pair special starts with how they treat the game.

“[It is] they’re approach to the game,” Johnson said. “They love the game. They get here on time. All the drills that we do, they lead them. Those are the ways that they are being leaders for the team.”

Outside of Parsons and Garcia, Johnson and the Lady Rams are set to return many contributos from last season that played many innings.

Players such as Raegan Mcknight, Iesha Willingham, Karian Christmas and Janiyah Henderson are just a few of the Lady Rams that will make a return to the diamond in 2025-26.

However Johnson made a note to mention the influx of youth that will have an impact, particularly on the pitching side.

“The freshmen that are coming up, we have a lot of young girls this year,” Johnson said. “And most of our pitchers will be those girls that are coming up [into] freshman year. We are going to be very young and we are going to just throw them out into the fire and whatever happens happens, because they are going to need to step up.”

The combination of many new arms will fill the role left by former senior Essence Burney, who pitched the majority of the innings last season.

One new aspect of this year’s Lady Rams is the rest of the coaching staff.. With the addition of two former county-area players, Johnson is looking for the additions to help push Newton softball further into the playoffs.

“We have Talacia Thompson, she is actually a native out of Covington. She went to Alcovy and graduated from there [in 2020], and she also went to Lane College to play ball,” Johnson said. “We also have Kaitlyn Neely. She graduated from here so she is coming back here to give back to the community and help me coach as well.”

As the Lady Rams continue to sharpen their skills through the summer, Johnson is looking for the team to do a little more than what is just on the diamond and in the batting cage.

“Hustling intentionally [and] being a family,” Johnson said. “Sticking together, joining together [and] always uplifting and encouraging each other. We did have a preseason vision board-type party and the things they said for the goal this year is becoming a family, sticking behind each other, having fun and going to the playoffs.”