Ashton Gerard/MDN DLBLC’s Erica Hermanson winds up for the pitch during a Class B softball game last season.

Despite having a new head coach at the helm, not much else has changed for the Lakers.

The Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark softball team suffered a pair of major blows down the home stretch of last season. The first came when the Lakers got handed an 11-0 loss to Central Cass in the Class B state title game on June 2, 2018.

The second came 17 days later on June 19, when head coach Melvin Erickson abruptly resigned, citing his growing age as the primary reason. Erickson led DLBLC to three state appearances in his four seasons as the head coach and left behind some considerably large shoes for the program to fill.

“He had a tremendous attitude and communicated with the administration really well,” DLB Athletic Director Scott Medalen told the Minot Daily News after the resignation was announced. “Mel did a great job with the girls softball program.”

Despite both of these setbacks, the Lakers have recovered.

The first step came on Jan. 30 when the team hired Peggy Person as its new head coach. An assistant coach with the team for the past two years, Person hopes to build off an already-established rapport with the team’s players.

“Building relationships with your players is one of the most difficult parts of coaching,” Person said. “In that aspect, they already know me and I already know them, so that’s good…I think that helps a lot.”

The second step toward getting back to their winning ways came this past week, when the team took to the field for its first official practice of the 2019 season.

Perhaps the biggest name returning for the Lakers is junior ace Erica Hermanson.

The then-sophomore pitched all three games during DLBLC’s state tournament run last season, and with multiple years of postseason experience under her belt, Hermanson will only be more dominant on the mound this season.

Aiding Hermanson are sophomores Brooklyn and Brynley Benno. Brooklyn is another standout pitcher on the mound, while Brynley is a catcher that can hit with power at the plate.

DLBLC also has a new face added to the mix, as Stanley transfer Maura Mills is now eligible to play. The junior third baseman will look to add to an already-talented Lakers team.

“We’re very optimistic with who we have returning,” Person said. “We have some key players coming back. There are a couple holes that we need to fill, but I’m confident that we have some players that can do that for us.”

It’s this loaded roster that Person and company know will bring high expectations for the year, but the team isn’t concerned with outside voices.

Instead of looking ahead to the postseason, the Lakers plan to take a more methodical approach on the path to their ultimate goal.

“Last year’s experience was tremendous,” Person said. “Do I have those expectations once again this year? Well, that’s a lot of pressure if you ask me. I’ve just told the girls that if you look too far ahead, you miss the day-to-day things. We just want to get better and better every day.”

The next step for DLBLC comes on Friday, when the Lakers host Washburn at 4:30 p.m. in their season opener.

The team will look to make the most of its early non-regional games, as it’s first three contests are all at home.

“(The first few games) are critical,” Person said. “We don’t want to start sub-region play without having a couple of games under our belts. It’s going to be critical to play those non-counting games, tweak some things and just see where everybody is.”

Justin Martinez covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JTheSportsDude.