Andalusia’s varsity softball team set some lofty goals for 2012, and first-time head coach Teresa Herring said she’s excited to get things started.

The Lady Bulldogs will field four seniors, three juniors and “a lot” of sophomores on this year’s team.

“The sophomore group I’ve had since they were in the seventh grade,” Herring, a long-time assistant coach said. “They’re the most cohesive team I think we’ve had in a while. They all get along real well.

Herring takes over the team after former coach Marcus Taylor left AHS to take the head football coaching job at Rehobeth High School in January.

Herring has a good background in softball. She played at the junior college level, and still squeezes in games during the summer time. Additionally, she umpires, too.

Andalusia’s got a healthy group of pitchers this season.

Maggie Lambert, Olivia Dixon, Abbie Young and Breanna Dixon will take center stage in the chalked circle for the Lady Bulldogs.

Herring said she is still looking to solidify the other positions on the field.

“The same infield is back from last year,” she said. “The middle infield is the same. We’ll have Sam (Greene) at second (base), and Emily (Terry) back at short stop.”

Andalusia will compete in Class 4A, Area 3 again this season. The Lady Bulldogs have rival Straughn, Headland and Ashford in their area.

Area play for AHS begins Thurs., March 1, at SHS.

“We’ve got Headland, who is going to be very strong,” Herring said. “They were young last year. With Ashford, they lost that really good pitcher, but they’re going to be pretty good. It’ll be strong area again.

“Straughn will be down, but they’ll always be something to compete with,” she said.

As far as the goals for the season, Herring said the girls want to finish the regular season without any blemishes.

“They set them really high,” she said. “They want to go undefeated in the regular season.

“They want to be successful. They want to work hard and they are a great group of girls,” she said. “They work hard, day-in and day-out.”

The Lady Bulldogs will begin their season on Monday at home against Enterprise. First pitch is at 4 p.m. for the junior varsity team.