Play ball! This 2001 spring semester, the Penn State McKeesport Lady Lions fast pitch softball team hopes to pioneer their way through their first season. However, a coaching staff has yet to be declared.
   According to Athletic Director Robert Leck, there are coaches in mind and the coaching staff should be made by the end of December. Nevertheless, potential players like Bess Regan (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies) are left in the dark, wondering what kind of season the team will have.
   On the last day of softball class this semester, instructor Robert Haul strongly suggested that the women who participated in the class go out for the team, but questions are boggling the minds of several probable players like Allison Kelley (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies) who questions, "When is softball beginning, who is coaching, where is the team playing their home games, and what section will the team be competing against?"
   Conditioning is scheduled to start in January 2001, and the teams that the girls will compete against are based on a conference section. However, the field in which the women play their home games is not definite. Other than that, the most probable field is one of the Jimmy Long fields, which are located in Renzie Park.
   As for the prospective players who are trying to schedule their classes, Mr. Leck suggested that no night classes be scheduled due to late practices or games. He said the games would be held on Monday and Wednesday nights as well as a few Saturday mornings, and the women could look forward to practices every weekday between the hours of 3 and 7 p.m. Freshman Lia Hummingbird (division of undergraduate studies) thinks the team has a shot of doing well. "Since most students here on campus are from local high schools, I've either had a chance to play with or against many of the girls who are going out for the team, so, I know that talent is not an issue. More or less, it's the fact that we need to become an organized team and learn to play as a unit," Ms. Hummingbird said.