Triton Softball Team Looks To Continue Success
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
“It’s kind of unique this year, because in past years, we’ve kind of had to manipulate things because we weren’t real solid defensively,” he said. “This year, I think we actually have more players than we have positions. It’s been very competitive, which is good for us.”
Featuring eight seniors, the Trojans are coming off a season in which they finished third in the Northern State Conference, their highest finish ever, as well as winning a sectional championship.
Looking to duplicate that success this year, a lot will be hinging on the arm of senior pitcher Mallorie Jennings.
The program’s all-time leader in strikeouts, Jennings had 244 last year, going 17-8 with a 1.26 ERA.
“She looks solid,” McBride said of Jennings. “She works at it and puts the time into it. We expect her to have a big year.”
Offensively, Triton’s top player is junior Krystal Sellers, who hit .524 a year ago, while also recording 30 RBIs, 10 doubles, seven home runs and stole 26 bases.
“She led us in every offensive category and was an all-conference player last year,” McBride said.
Jennings also batted .451 last year, followed by senior Allison Brown’s .388 and junior Hannah Jennings’ .330.
With so many good things going for Triton, McBride is eager to see how it all plays out.
“I think the pitching will be solid,” he said. “We hope to improve our defense and we’re looking like our offense should be better too. However, we won’t really know until we get out there and play somebody.”
That opening game is slated for April 7 at Class 3A No. 10 Rochester.
2013 Record: 22-9 (9-5 Northern State Conference)
Key Losses – N/A.
Key Returnees – Mallorie Jennings (Sr., P), Brycelyn Garbison (Jr., P/1B/3B); Allyson Brown (Sr., C); Lillie Berger (Jr., 2B), Krystal Sellers (Jr., SS); Hannah Jennings (Jr., CF); Lexee Lemler (Jr., RF), Kayla Kreft (Soph., INF), Janae Kreft (Sr., LF).
Warsaw Tigers
Following last year’s 8-17 campaign, Jim Speicher and the Warsaw softball team are looking for a big bounce back in 2014.
Gone from last year’s team, which went 8-6 in the Northern Lakes Conference, is four-year varsity player Kayla Snider, as well as Ashton Warren, but a whole lot returns, including five seniors.
“They’ve been around long enough, played on two pretty good teams as freshmen and sophomores, but struggled a bit last year,” Speicher said of the senior class. “So, they’ve seen both the good and the bad. I’m hoping they show some good senior leadership and we can be more competitive this year.”
The youth of last year’s team also led to some defensive lapses, which Speicher hopes to shore up by moving some things around, including his senior daughter Kaleigh Speicher from pitcher to shortstop.
“We had some defensive woes last year in the infield,” he said. “Defense cost us quite a few ball games, when discussing it with the girls. That’s been a priority for us here in the preseason. So, Kaleigh’s moving to shortstop and we’re moving (junior) Taylor Stiver from short to third base and see if we can clean up some of our defensive miscues from last year.”
With the changes, Speicher believes the team can get back on track.
“I’m hoping we learned some mental toughness (from last year),” he said. “Last year, we were young and when an error or two would happen, we would seem to find a way to make more miscues and kind of bury ourselves in those games. We’re trying to teach mental toughness. You understand that physical mistakes are going to happen, but it’s what you do after that that can keep you in ball games.”
Key Losses – Kayla Snider (C), Ashton Warren (RF).
Key Returnees – Kaleigh Speicher (Sr., SS), Kara Dishman (Sr., 2B), Alexa Glass (Sr., OF), Ashley Ousley (Sr., CF), Whitney Sleeth (Sr., P), Taylor Stiver (Jr., 3B), Sidney Hernandez (Jr., 1B/C), Karly Jones (Jr., RF).
2013 Record: 8-17 (8-6 NLC).
Wawasee Warriors
The Wawasee softball team will have its third coach in three seasons this year, as Jared Knipper takes the job held by Hans Griepentrog a year ago.
Along with the coach being gone, so too is hard-hitting Madi Anderson, but the team does bring back a good nucleus in juniors Alli Ousley and Paige Hlutke, as well as sophomore Kylee Rostochak.
“We are a young team with a very high ceiling of potential,” Knipper said. “They have come together as a team and show a lot of leadership as a whole despite our youth. We have no one person who believes they are more important that the team itself. They have really bought in to the ‘do you job’ philosophy we have, where what is best for the team comes first. They work harder than any team I have been around, and know how to separate having fun and getting down to business.”
2013 Record – 13-15.
Key Losses – Madi Anderson, Kylie Norris, Taylor Spangle, Victoria Warren.
Key Returnees – Kylee Rostochak (Soph., 3B), Alli Ousley (Jr., SS), Paige Hlutke (Jr., C).
Tippecanoe Valley Vikings
Coming off a 5-18 season, the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings hope to increase those wins under first-year coach Todd Volk.
Along with John Strong stepping down as coach, the Vikings also lost top player Mariah Benzing from last year, making things a bit tougher, but the team does return a lot of experience.
“We are looking to build off a respectable showing in sectional last year,” Todd Volk said. “We return eight starters from the 2013 team along with three others with varsity experience.
“Our seniors have really been great in understanding what we expect of them and instilling those expectations in the underclassmen,” he added. :Between them, assistant coach Chris Kindig, and (Tippecanoe Valley Athletic Director Duane) Burkhart they have made my transition easy.”
2013 Record – 5-18 (1-6 Three Rivers Conference).
Key Losses – Mariah Benzing, Madison Strong (injury).
Key Returnees – Kassidy Shepherd (Jr., P/INF), Lauren Early (Jr., OF), Danielle Adams (Sr., SS), Diana Baca (Sr., OF), Tenaya Shull (Jr., INF), Darian Dotson (Jr., C), Katie Gunter (Soph., P/INF), Mia McHaffey (Jr., INF), Robyn Dunnuck (Sr., INF), Mariah Bradford (Jr., OF), Kelsey Eckert (Sr., P/OF).
Whitko Wildcats
Second-year Whitko coach Brad Clark looks to bounce back from a 4-20 season, which saw the Wildcats go 1-6 in the Three Rivers Conference.
Gone from that team is all-conference selection Emily Weigold, as well as all-conference honorable mention selection Hannah Himes behind the plate.
Weigold was Whitko’s top pitcher from a year ago, but that position will go to junior Aly Nicodemus in 2014.
“A common theme last year was we would play opponents very tough for a couple of innings, but seemed to have one bad inning at some point to take us out of the game,” Clark said. “We also lost three conference games tied or winning in the seventh inning. That actually had us highly motivated going into the summer and offseason as we knew we could compete for more wins if we limited and cleaned up those mistakes. We had several girls play throughout the summer. The seniors and returning varsity players have done a good job with leadership. We also have a great group of sophomores who have been dedicated to our offseason and preseason workouts.”
2013 Record – 4-20 (1-6 Three Rivers Conference).
Key Losses – Emily Weigold (P), Hannah Himes (C).
Key Returnees – Aly Nicodemus (Jr.), Maddie Gawthrop (Jr.), Jenny Brown (Sr.), Amanda Shepherd (Sr.), Sydney Lancaster (Soph.).
Manchester Squires
At Manchester, coach Brittany Fratus loses five seniors from last year’s team that went 3-4 in the Three Rivers Conference.
Among the losses is all-conference infielder Kalene Freshour, but the team does bring back all-conference catcher Nina Smith.
“We want to improve with each game and learn something from each one,” coach Brittany Fratus said.
Also back is pitcher Sydney Jordan, who is one of nine seniors on the team.
Like most teams, Fratus has struggled to get her girls outside, which has affected some drills.
“With the weather, it’s been hard to get outside to work on hitting,” she said. “But we want to be able to be playing our best ball by the time conference comes around and sectional time.”
2013 Record – 3-4 Three Rivers Conference.
Key Losses – Kalene Freshour (2B/SS), Kayla Flack (3B/P), Chloe Liefer (1B), Karissa Jimenez (P/1B), Abby Lynn (OF/C).
Key Returnees – Nina Smith (Sr., C), Sydney Jordan (Sr., P), Sydney Snep (Sr., SS), Mariah Mobley (Sr., LF), Tabby DeWitt (Sr., 1B), Kacy Sites (Sr., 1B).[[In-content Ad]]
“It’s kind of unique this year, because in past years, we’ve kind of had to manipulate things because we weren’t real solid defensively,” he said. “This year, I think we actually have more players than we have positions. It’s been very competitive, which is good for us.”
Featuring eight seniors, the Trojans are coming off a season in which they finished third in the Northern State Conference, their highest finish ever, as well as winning a sectional championship.
Looking to duplicate that success this year, a lot will be hinging on the arm of senior pitcher Mallorie Jennings.
The program’s all-time leader in strikeouts, Jennings had 244 last year, going 17-8 with a 1.26 ERA.
“She looks solid,” McBride said of Jennings. “She works at it and puts the time into it. We expect her to have a big year.”
Offensively, Triton’s top player is junior Krystal Sellers, who hit .524 a year ago, while also recording 30 RBIs, 10 doubles, seven home runs and stole 26 bases.
“She led us in every offensive category and was an all-conference player last year,” McBride said.
Jennings also batted .451 last year, followed by senior Allison Brown’s .388 and junior Hannah Jennings’ .330.
With so many good things going for Triton, McBride is eager to see how it all plays out.
“I think the pitching will be solid,” he said. “We hope to improve our defense and we’re looking like our offense should be better too. However, we won’t really know until we get out there and play somebody.”
That opening game is slated for April 7 at Class 3A No. 10 Rochester.
2013 Record: 22-9 (9-5 Northern State Conference)
Key Losses – N/A.
Key Returnees – Mallorie Jennings (Sr., P), Brycelyn Garbison (Jr., P/1B/3B); Allyson Brown (Sr., C); Lillie Berger (Jr., 2B), Krystal Sellers (Jr., SS); Hannah Jennings (Jr., CF); Lexee Lemler (Jr., RF), Kayla Kreft (Soph., INF), Janae Kreft (Sr., LF).
Warsaw Tigers
Following last year’s 8-17 campaign, Jim Speicher and the Warsaw softball team are looking for a big bounce back in 2014.
Gone from last year’s team, which went 8-6 in the Northern Lakes Conference, is four-year varsity player Kayla Snider, as well as Ashton Warren, but a whole lot returns, including five seniors.
“They’ve been around long enough, played on two pretty good teams as freshmen and sophomores, but struggled a bit last year,” Speicher said of the senior class. “So, they’ve seen both the good and the bad. I’m hoping they show some good senior leadership and we can be more competitive this year.”
The youth of last year’s team also led to some defensive lapses, which Speicher hopes to shore up by moving some things around, including his senior daughter Kaleigh Speicher from pitcher to shortstop.
“We had some defensive woes last year in the infield,” he said. “Defense cost us quite a few ball games, when discussing it with the girls. That’s been a priority for us here in the preseason. So, Kaleigh’s moving to shortstop and we’re moving (junior) Taylor Stiver from short to third base and see if we can clean up some of our defensive miscues from last year.”
With the changes, Speicher believes the team can get back on track.
“I’m hoping we learned some mental toughness (from last year),” he said. “Last year, we were young and when an error or two would happen, we would seem to find a way to make more miscues and kind of bury ourselves in those games. We’re trying to teach mental toughness. You understand that physical mistakes are going to happen, but it’s what you do after that that can keep you in ball games.”
Key Losses – Kayla Snider (C), Ashton Warren (RF).
Key Returnees – Kaleigh Speicher (Sr., SS), Kara Dishman (Sr., 2B), Alexa Glass (Sr., OF), Ashley Ousley (Sr., CF), Whitney Sleeth (Sr., P), Taylor Stiver (Jr., 3B), Sidney Hernandez (Jr., 1B/C), Karly Jones (Jr., RF).
2013 Record: 8-17 (8-6 NLC).
Wawasee Warriors
The Wawasee softball team will have its third coach in three seasons this year, as Jared Knipper takes the job held by Hans Griepentrog a year ago.
Along with the coach being gone, so too is hard-hitting Madi Anderson, but the team does bring back a good nucleus in juniors Alli Ousley and Paige Hlutke, as well as sophomore Kylee Rostochak.
“We are a young team with a very high ceiling of potential,” Knipper said. “They have come together as a team and show a lot of leadership as a whole despite our youth. We have no one person who believes they are more important that the team itself. They have really bought in to the ‘do you job’ philosophy we have, where what is best for the team comes first. They work harder than any team I have been around, and know how to separate having fun and getting down to business.”
2013 Record – 13-15.
Key Losses – Madi Anderson, Kylie Norris, Taylor Spangle, Victoria Warren.
Key Returnees – Kylee Rostochak (Soph., 3B), Alli Ousley (Jr., SS), Paige Hlutke (Jr., C).
Tippecanoe Valley Vikings
Coming off a 5-18 season, the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings hope to increase those wins under first-year coach Todd Volk.
Along with John Strong stepping down as coach, the Vikings also lost top player Mariah Benzing from last year, making things a bit tougher, but the team does return a lot of experience.
“We are looking to build off a respectable showing in sectional last year,” Todd Volk said. “We return eight starters from the 2013 team along with three others with varsity experience.
“Our seniors have really been great in understanding what we expect of them and instilling those expectations in the underclassmen,” he added. :Between them, assistant coach Chris Kindig, and (Tippecanoe Valley Athletic Director Duane) Burkhart they have made my transition easy.”
2013 Record – 5-18 (1-6 Three Rivers Conference).
Key Losses – Mariah Benzing, Madison Strong (injury).
Key Returnees – Kassidy Shepherd (Jr., P/INF), Lauren Early (Jr., OF), Danielle Adams (Sr., SS), Diana Baca (Sr., OF), Tenaya Shull (Jr., INF), Darian Dotson (Jr., C), Katie Gunter (Soph., P/INF), Mia McHaffey (Jr., INF), Robyn Dunnuck (Sr., INF), Mariah Bradford (Jr., OF), Kelsey Eckert (Sr., P/OF).
Whitko Wildcats
Second-year Whitko coach Brad Clark looks to bounce back from a 4-20 season, which saw the Wildcats go 1-6 in the Three Rivers Conference.
Gone from that team is all-conference selection Emily Weigold, as well as all-conference honorable mention selection Hannah Himes behind the plate.
Weigold was Whitko’s top pitcher from a year ago, but that position will go to junior Aly Nicodemus in 2014.
“A common theme last year was we would play opponents very tough for a couple of innings, but seemed to have one bad inning at some point to take us out of the game,” Clark said. “We also lost three conference games tied or winning in the seventh inning. That actually had us highly motivated going into the summer and offseason as we knew we could compete for more wins if we limited and cleaned up those mistakes. We had several girls play throughout the summer. The seniors and returning varsity players have done a good job with leadership. We also have a great group of sophomores who have been dedicated to our offseason and preseason workouts.”
2013 Record – 4-20 (1-6 Three Rivers Conference).
Key Losses – Emily Weigold (P), Hannah Himes (C).
Key Returnees – Aly Nicodemus (Jr.), Maddie Gawthrop (Jr.), Jenny Brown (Sr.), Amanda Shepherd (Sr.), Sydney Lancaster (Soph.).
Manchester Squires
At Manchester, coach Brittany Fratus loses five seniors from last year’s team that went 3-4 in the Three Rivers Conference.
Among the losses is all-conference infielder Kalene Freshour, but the team does bring back all-conference catcher Nina Smith.
“We want to improve with each game and learn something from each one,” coach Brittany Fratus said.
Also back is pitcher Sydney Jordan, who is one of nine seniors on the team.
Like most teams, Fratus has struggled to get her girls outside, which has affected some drills.
“With the weather, it’s been hard to get outside to work on hitting,” she said. “But we want to be able to be playing our best ball by the time conference comes around and sectional time.”
2013 Record – 3-4 Three Rivers Conference.
Key Losses – Kalene Freshour (2B/SS), Kayla Flack (3B/P), Chloe Liefer (1B), Karissa Jimenez (P/1B), Abby Lynn (OF/C).
Key Returnees – Nina Smith (Sr., C), Sydney Jordan (Sr., P), Sydney Snep (Sr., SS), Mariah Mobley (Sr., LF), Tabby DeWitt (Sr., 1B), Kacy Sites (Sr., 1B).[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092