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Lady Wolverines are coming back strong
(by Tony Lange - March 21, 2012)
Lady Wolverines are coming back strong
By TONY LANGE
A team can have the best 4-5-6 combination around the diamond, but infielders need a target to throw to when grounders come their way, and that's the situation the West Geauga softball team faces this preseason.
The Lady Wolverines are returning from a 7-11 season, including a 4-6 mark in the Chagrin Valley Conference.
Among their top returners are seniors Rachel Komar and Taylor Tercek, as well as sophomore Brianne Sexton. All three received All-CVC postseason honors as infielders last season.
First-year head coach Eugene Iacona said the Lady Wolverines have been eight strong in the field this preseason, and they still need to fill the first-base position, where the majority of outs are made in softball.
"We have a solid eight players," he said. "I think we'll be very good, but I've got one more spot that I'm going to have to fill. But they all look talented. They're working real hard. We've got speed this year on the team. The pitching looks good. So I'm looking forward to a very good year."
Komar and Tercek will fulfill the shortstop and second-base positions this season and will be two of West Geauga's four captains, Iacona said.
Leading the pitching effort will be a pair of sophomores, Meghan Dayringer and Allison DeLooze, who both had significant varsity experience on the mound as freshmen last season.
"Meghan will probably be my No. 1 because of her fastball, but they'll both get a lot of playing time, because they are real close in talent," Iacona said. "So, yeah, I'm going to live and die by Allison and Meghan."
While not pitching, Dayringer may fill the gap at first base, and DeLooze could end up in right field, Iacona said.
Behind the plate, junior Marley Praprost returns at catcher.
In the grass, junior Kayli Doll returns at center field.
While Sexton could play third base, she will probably see some time in left field because of some incoming freshman talent, Iacona said.
"Sexton can probably play anywhere though," he said. "She's a great athlete. She has a nice bat. She's very quick. She'll catch anything that comes her way. And she has a very good baseball sense to her. She knows what to do with the ball. She's a very aggressive base runner. She's almost like a mini Rachel Komar. She just has a good brain for softball."
One area that has been stressed more than anything else during the preseason has been defense, Iacona said.
"We need to play perfect defense," he said. "I think we can generate some runs, but because we don't have a dominant pitcher, we're also going to give up some runs. So we've worked a ton on defense this whole offseason. The benefit for us this year is we've got some speed, so I can play some small ball. We will score runs. I think it's one of those years where whoever makes the least amount of errors is going to win."
"I've definitely been stressing defense more than anything else -- not only the physical aspect but also the mental aspect, like making sure you're throwing to the right base. Don't give up any extra bases."
Upon their return from spring break in Myrtle Beach, S.C., the Lady Wolverines will open their Ohio season at 4:30 p.m. April 2 at Kenston.
The Lady Bombers ended West Geauga's postseason in a 2-1 pitchers' duel last year.
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