No team enters the 2013 Bay Rivers District softball season with as much returning talent as Grafton.
As last year’s regular season runners-up, the Clippers enter Tuesday’s opening day as the early-season favorites to dethrone reigning champ Poquoson, which will have to compete without former area phenom Maggie Tyler, who is now pitching at Virginia Tech.
Poquoson, which returns five starters from last year’s group that advanced to the state semifinals, is still expected to contend again, as is a young but talented York team along with perennial powers New Kent and Smithfield.
Warhill will also look to emerge as a contender for the first time in school history behind the talented battery of sophomore pitcher Colby Norris and junior catcher Bridget Henzel. If Jamestown can find someone to fill the large shoes of standout pitcher Tara Heatwole, who graduated early to attend and play for Liberty University, the Eagles have one of the most experienced teams in the district with eight of nine starters back.
And in a pitching-dominant sport like softball, the district’s top two arms – Warhill’s Norris and Smithfield’s Sydney Gay – are both sophomores, which means the future is bright, although both teams could easily contend right away if they find enough support at the plate.
Grafton, however, likely won’t have to worry about generating runs. Led by all-state third baseman Hannah Olson, who batted .474 with 24 runs and 21 RBIs last year and will slide over to play shortstop this season, the Clippers pose the most feared lineup in the district to go along with a very strong defensive core as well.
Defense could be key, too, since No. 1 pitching option Taylor Wiseman could miss up to a month after being diagnosed with mono, even though there is little drop off between Wiseman and No. 2 starter Allison Deaver.
“None of our pitchers, whether it’s Taylor [Wiseman] or Aly [Deaver] are going to go out there and strike out 13 people,” Clippers coach Vanessa Young said. “Our success will be determined by how well we play defense and scoring runs.”
Strong at the plate and in the field, returners Christa Hall, who will play first base, and center fielder Emily Beyer will assist in both departments. Freshman Jessica Sprouse, who Young says is a fine defender, will take over at third for Olson and rounds out one of the best fielding teams in the district.
York’s success, on the other hand, will come down to pitching, as the loss of four-year starter Hannah Winfree leaves the Falcons with two freshman arms to carry the load this season in Molly Rogerson, younger sister of junior standout Maddie Rogerson, and Maddi Capps.
All-district catcher Lia Batchelor and shortstop Maddie Rogerson, both .400-caliber hitters, will be relied on heavily for offensive production with Bay Rivers and Region I Player of the Year Kimmy Ashe now gone.
With no seniors on the roster, Falcons coach Amy Hunter said the maturation of her team will determine a lot. And with two freshmen seeing a bulk of the innings at pitcher, she says the offense must produce.
“There aren’t going to be any games this season where we can just sit back and say, ‘Oh let’s just sit back and have fun with this one’,” Hunter said. “With two freshmen on the mound, the defense needs to be sharp, but more than that we’re going to have to perform at the plate.”
For Warhill, after years in the Bay Rivers District cellar, the Lions could be the breakout team to watch this spring.
Last spring proved to be a year of firsts for Warhill, which won its first-ever home game, made its first trip to the district tournament and also had a player named to the all-district first team for the first time.
Last year’s all-district first team representative, shortstop Malinka Walters, now playing at Norfolk State, is gone, but the program’s growth should continue behind stars Norris and Henzel, two of the best at their respective positions in the district.
Warhill head coach Meredith Powell said Norris, who tallied somewhere in the ballpark of 100 strikeouts last season, worked hard developing new pitches and adding speed during the offseason, and Henzel, one of the district’s most powerful hitters at the plate who led the Lions in nearly every offensive category last year, is garnering interest and has received a few verbal offers from college programs as a junior.
Returner Bri Haislip adds offensive pop and will anchor the No. 3 spot in Warhill’s lineup in addition to manning the hot corner at third base for a second straight season.
Powell added she wasn’t expecting to be confident in replacing Walters at shortstop, but has been thoroughly impressed with freshman Hayley Shulz, who Powell says has stepped right in and been a pleasant surprise.
“I’m very happy with the chemistry and focus of the girls so far and their willingness to learn,” Powell said. “We’ve made such tremendous gains (the past few seasons), our goal this year is show that we’re a team that no longer can be overlooked. … I believe our district is the toughest in the state, so if we can continue to grow this season, I think it will do so much for our program as a whole.”
Another team looking to build off recent success is Jamestown, which enters this season with nearly every starter back other than Heatwole, including Virignia Tech-bound Elizabeth Henry at shortstop, catcher Courtney Smith, second baseman Jessica Stone and outfielder Alexis Smith, who were among the Eagles’ top hitters last year.
Stone and Brooke Smith will likely share duties inside the pitching circle, and if they can come anywhere close to matching Heatwole’s consistency last year, the Eagles will surely be in the late-season hunt for a home game in the district tournament.
We’ll know soon enough what this season will have in store as Tuesday’s opening day schedule includes two telling matchups – Poquoson vs. Grafton and Warhill vs. York – while Jamestown’s home opener against Smithfield on Friday should be a good one, too.
OPENING DAY SCHEDULE
Tabb vs. Jamestown, Tabb High, 4 p.m.
Poquoson vs. Grafton, Poquoson High, 4:30 p.m.
Lafayette vs. New Kent, Warhill Sports Complex, 4:30 p.m.
Smithfield vs. Bruton, Smithfield High, 4:30 p.m.
Warhill vs. York, 4:30 p.m., Warhill High
