Finishing 9-19 a season ago, the Macomb High softball team is one in transition for the 2026 season.
It starts with Madelyn Belville, an assistant coach last year, taking over the top spot in 2026.
“I’m really excited to get going,” she said. “We’re really young this year. There’s lots of things we need to learn.”
“What excites me is how young they are,” added Belville. “I feel like we’re pushing them a lot. And they probably think we’re being really hard on them. But there’s so much potential being a young group.”
“Having to step up and play in these positions early, makes a huge difference in the future I think,” she added. “I look forward to seeing what they can accomplish.”
The Bombers have two returning seniors in infielder Lauren Schmalshof, who is headed for Monmouth College to play softball next season, along with outfielder Peyton Corbin, who will also serve as the backup catcher.
Three juniors in Reagan Knowles (catcher), Abby Kwacala (second base) and Autumn Starbuck (outfield) also return.
Sophomore infielder Lily Schmalshof saw limited action a season ago, while freshman Lily Goc “works hard and has a positive attitude every day. That’s what I’m looking for,” Belville noted.
A key for the team however comes in the form of sophomore pitcher Kinley Sloan.
“I think Kinley has what it takes to do it,” said Belville of Sloan.
With an injury to Josie Elbe, Sloan will be shouldering the majority of time in the circle.
“Kinley has a lot to offer on the mound,” said Belville. “That’s a big help as well. I think she’s ready.”
Serving an assistant last season, along with the return of assistant coach Grace Stufflebeam has helped ease the transition for Belville heading into this season.
“I already have some relationships formed with some of the returning girls,” said Belville. “So that’s been a good transition.”
“I feel like they’re already comfortable and know who I am,” she added. “It hasn’t been a huge transition.”
So what does Belville look for from her players?
“I always tell the girls that if you can hit the ball, you’re going to be in the lineup,” she said. “We’ll find somewhere to put you on the field.”
“Attitude and effort are two other things,” said Belville. “If you come to practice every day with a good attitude and you give me all the effort you can all the time, you’re going to be on the field.”
The schedule provides a mix of Prairieland, Western Big Six and other squads from the Quad Cities, Quincy and Springfield areas.
“It could be an eye-opener for us being young,” admitted Belville. “But playing great competition is how you get better.”
“We might struggle, but that’s all right and I’ve told them that,” she added. “We have bigger teams on our schedule. But we also have some teams that are like us.”
“I think that being scrappy, doing the little things right, and we’ll be right there with them.”
For Belville, that all begins with practice.
“I told the girls that if you focus on the little things, the outcome will be there,” she said. “Coming to practice with 100 percent effort, 100 percent good attitude. Those little things are going to make a difference.”
With its youth, Belville noted that the players will need to learn to fight through adversity and mistakes.
“You can’t get down on yourself,” said Belville. “You make one mistake, everybody makes a mistake.”
“It’s part of the game. It happens every day. It’s a game of failure and you have to be able to figure out how to overcome it,” she added. “And the good teams know how to overcome that.”
“It’s hard, but just being able to overcome that is huge,” she added. “That’s what we’re really pushing them to do.”
One current hindrance for the team is a lack of players, especially pitchers.
“Our numbers are pretty low,” said Belville. “I don’t know how many JV innings we’ll see. Our JV team is where we like to develop our program.”
