Bookmark & share:

E-mail this page E-mail a letter to the editor Reader Comments (below)

04/11/2008

While several local teams look promising in Western C, the favorite is an easy one: Georges Valley won the state championship last year, and coach Rusty Worcester returns the core of that team, led by catcher Desiree Smith and first baseman Ashley Geel.

"They played solid defense," Hall-Dale coach Dave Kaplan said. "They're the preseason favorite. Rusty's a great coach. They've got it going there."

Telstar also can count on a perennially strong program, and among local teams, Monmouth, Madison and Hall-Dale should all contend for a home playoff game.

Monmouth is led by senior shortstop Jenn Lola, last year's Mountain Valley Conference Player of the Year. Third baseman Jill Armstrong and outfielder Katie Woodman were each named to the MVC's second team, while pitcher Brittney Hilton earned a spot on the first team.

"She's solid," Monmouth coach Rachel Bernier said of Hilton. "She works hard, she's got good velocity (and) control."

Madison had a solid team last season and returns 12 players from that group. The keys for the Bulldogs are replacing pitcher Ashley Marandola (who batted leadoff) and third baseman Amanda Poissonier, the cleanup hitter. Brittney Lichtenfels, who played first base last season, will pitch, and coach Al Veneziano says she has increased her speed from last season.

The Bulldogs still have two first-team all-MVC selections in catcher Jessica Hayden and outfielder Amanda Costa, the 2-3 batters in their lineup last spring. But they may rely on manufacturing runs a little more than they have in the past.

"We need to move baserunners along," Veneziano said. "I think we have some speed. We'll be able to pick up some runs with our baserunning."

Hall-Dale keeps moving in the right direction and, after losing in the preliminary round the last two years, the Bulldogs have an excellent shot at advancing to at least the quarterfinals this spring.

Coach Dave Kaplan would like the Bulldogs to increase their batting averages.

Kaplan has an experienced catcher in senior Brittany Ladner and two intriguing pitching options in senior Jocelyn Tripp, a right-hander, and sophomore Lindsay LaChance, a lefty.

"We'll use them both in the same game and alternate days," Kaplan said. "Having a righty-lefty combination is not a bad thing. And they can both throw hard and throw strikes."

Mt. Abram has a new coach in Sara Martin, a Mt. Abram grad who also played at UMaine-Farmington.

She inherits a roster with only one senior and four juniors. Still, the Roadrunners will be able to fill many of the key up-the-middle spots with experienced players. Mt. Abram has two good pitchers in junior Kenni Norton and freshman Molly McCafferty.

"We have a lot to work on," Martin said. "We're young, and the players that I do have, have played a ton of softball, and they're gamers."

Winthrop was tabbed for a big improvement after finishing 2-12 in 2006, but moved to only 3-11 because it lost several close games, including a one-run decision to Monmouth in extra innings. The main concerns for Winthrop this season are reducing the errors and getting more punch in their offense.

Coach Lisa Hasch has three pitchers in senior Jill Ouellette, sophomore Erin Belanger and freshman Sasha Flaherty. She plans to give each of them time on the mound and also use them at other positions to keep their arms fresh.

"We're hoping to do a rotation this year," Hasch said. "They've all got good speed."

In the hierarchy of youth, there's young, there's really young, and then there's Carrabec. The Cobras have no seniors on their roster and just three juniors. They still return seven players, five of whom are sophomores.

Carrabec hasn't won more than one game in a season since 2004, but there is some impressive talent here.

One concern for the Cobras is that junior pitcher Emily Warner is still recovering from an ACL injury, so new coach Craig Knight may need to rely on hard-throwing freshman Courtney Turner.

The Cobras will need to improve their defense from last season to move up in the standings, but with 43 players in the junior high program, there are signs that the program is on the rise.

Matt DiFilippo -- 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

Bookmark and share this story: