By Shelley Ebbrecht
It’s more or less the same team returning to the diamond for the Crane Lady Pirates this spring, but that’s a good thing when it means your successful softball squad has one more year of experience under their belts.
“With everyone come back, the team will be very similar to last year but with one more year of varsity experience,” said second-year head coach Hannah Keeth. “Last year’s team was made up of mainly freshman and sophomores and three juniors. This year, those same girls are back and are hungry and ready to build and improve on our 15-6 season from last year.”
Pitching was a mainstay for Crane, who relied almost entirely on rookie ace Olivia Edwards. As a freshman, she went 15-6 and recorded 136 strikeouts to earn first team all-conference.
“Our pitching and our hitting carried us through the season last year and I believe those two things will be key factors this year as well,” Keeth said. “Sophomore pitcher Olivia Edwards proved herself to be one of the best pitchers in the area last year as a freshman, so there are high hopes for her pitching and maturity on the mound to be a key factor this year, too.”
Edwards also led the team with 24 hits and 27 RBIs with a .353 batting average last season. Junior first baseman and all-conference honoree Maddie Moreland had the highest batting average, hitting .469. Senior catcher Eryn Akin got on base more than another other Lady Pirate with a .587 on-base percentage and junior third baseman Maggie Vaught led the team with 15 stolen bases.
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They will be joined on the field by senior second basemen Maelyn Gonzalez and senior centerfielder Sadie Burk. Junior Shelby Ellingsworth will return to shortstop and sophomore Sadie Mcmenamy will be in right field. The team also welcomes back senior Madison Fulp after a one-year hiatus.
“Expectations are set high this season,” Keeth said. “Last year we thought we had a shot at winning the district, but this year we know we have a shot at winning a district title and making a run in the playoffs.”
In the offseason, Keeth said the Lady Tigers have focused on the mental and strategic part of the game.
“A few of our losses last year came from mental mistakes such as throwing and fielding errors,” she said. “Our goal during the offseason was to learn the game and apply pressure and game-like situations to our drills. We have also been in the weight room a lot during the winter in hopes that our girls will become more mentally tough.”
Crane will open the season with three straight road games beginning with Norwood on March 21. They will face a rematch with defending district champion Forsyth at home March 28 before playing in the Forsyth Tournament April 8.
