The best indicator of progress last season for the Marshalltown softball team was a handful of less-decisive losses to the cream of the CIML Iowa Conference the second time through the schedule.

The Bobcats are hoping another summer in the sun sees greater improvements reflected by an increase in victories.

The MHS softball squad doubled its win total in its second season under head coach Jim Palmer, going 8-30 overall with a 2-16 mark in the CIML Iowa. The roster returns 12 players from last year’s squad, giving Palmer and Co. hope for another incremental climb after a season that endured losing streaks of 12, seven and eight games.

“I’m excited about it,” Palmer said of the summer campaign, which begins with tonight’s 7:30 p.m. home game against Newton. “I’d hoped we’d have a full return of our seniors, which is a main part of our lineup, and we had everybody but one come back.”

Senior Emily Hass will be out of action this summer due to injury, but the bulk of Bobcats with playing experience are back on the diamond. Seniors Regan Mazour (shortstop), Ciara Feldman (center field), McKaylee Dawson (pitcher) and McKenna Major (right field) are expected to resume their roles in the lineup, though Major still has obligations with the Bobcat soccer squad to attend to.

Juniors Alyvia Chadderdon and Abby Brennecke should both see increased roles, while sophomores Madi Finch and Erica Johnson will be three-year starters on the infield and leaders for the Bobcats from all angles.

Finch, who broke in as a first baseman, has moved across the diamond to the hot corner and has shown a knack for the position, Palmer said. Johnson will be the starting catcher but could align anywhere on the field defensively, should the situation mandate it.

Another sophomore, Gabby Himes, will compete to play first base, while freshmen Emma McWherter (outfield), Kailee Pollard (pitcher) and Kyra Feldman (outfield) are expected to see increased roles.

Having a lot of returners with experience will help immeasurably, Palmer said.

“We’re so far ahead of where we were last year and the year previous to that,” he said. “This year we’re able to jump in and work situational plays almost right away. It’s exciting. It’s been a faster process for us.”

The Bobcats bring ball all 197 innings pitched last summer in Dawson (111 1/3), Brennecke (60 2/3) and Pollard (25), but opposing hitters batted .364 off the trio collectively. The Marshalltown pitchers walked more batters (82) than they struck out (73) and ended the year with an 8.7 earned run average.

Throw out the unearned runs surrendered because of errors, and MHS still allowed just fewer than 6 runs per contest — too much for an offense scoring only 2.16 runs per game to counteract.

But Palmer believes his team’s bats will be bolstered by offseason training, and there’s probably nowhere to go but up after a collective .214 batting average last season. Mazour, a three-time all-conference honoree (second team once, honorable mention twice), led the ‘Cats with a .366 batting average, but she was the only regular to hit above .256.

Finch finished with four doubles, a home run and a team-leading 14 runs scored while hitting .256 and stealing a Bobcat-best eight bases. Her five extra-base hits were tops on the team as well.

Dawson and Johnson shared the team lead with 11 RBIs apiece.

Throw it all together and blend it with the teams of the CIML Iowa Conference, and the Bobcats are trying to avoid the recipe for disaster.

“We always know and we always talk about it, it’s going to be a struggle for our program,” Palmer acknowledged. “Our girls are so well-rounded athletes by playing all their other sports, and we’re playing athletes in our conference that [softball] is their sole purpose, that’s their sport and they work all year on it.

“We look forward to the challenge. We don’t run from it, we talk about that a lot. We reallly relish the fact we can get out there and play with them. Toward the end of last year they started to see us, we started to not be run-ruled. We weren’t winning those games but they were closer and the girls started to see we could play with those teams.”

Urbandale was a state semifinalist in Class 5A a year ago, while Dowling Catholic was downed in the first round. Johnston won the conference title but missed out on state. All three teams appeared in the top-10 of last year’s final IGHSAU softball rankings.