The Bismarck Demons softball team is back and ready to defend a title, even if that means being stuck in the gym for a few weeks.

Just a week into practices and these players know it could be a while before they see outside drills and actual games, but they’ve been in this position before. Last year’s April blizzard proved that. Some players are enjoying it more than others because it means a lot more work with the bat.

“It’s tough being in the gym,” says Jersey Berg. “But it’s a lot of reps and that’s what is going to get us better. Being outside, obviously, it’s nice to be on an actual field knowing the throwing distance but we can really get a lot of reps hitting. Where when you’re on the field, you have grounders and stuff and fly balls. So I’m excited cause I obviously know our team can hit. So I’m just excited to get better at hitting.”

“Just to get in shape, get in softball shape,” says head coach Billy Schmidt. “Just so when we get out there, we’re not dealing with nagging injuries that we didn’t get in conditioning and throwing.”