2013 Preview: Fairfield Lady Lions Softball
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Things will look a bit different for the Fairfield Lady Lions in 2013. Gone are veteran players who led the Lady Lions to conference championships in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, but the faces of this year's squad want their presence to be felt in the upcoming spring season.
Described by head coach Matthew Zimmerman as a very talented group with limited varsity experience, the Lady Lions, who went 19-10 in 2012, will return six players who put in many innings at the varsity level, players who will be looked upon to lead FHS to their third straight conference title.
Returning are junior first baseman Shelby Smithson (25 runs, 38 hits, two home runs, 20 RBIs, .413 batting average, .598 slugging percentage), senior second baseman Sirenity Smith (20 RBIs, 18 hits), sophomore shortstop Kaitlin Evans (20 runs, 18 hits, .247 batting average, 13 steals) and senior center fielder Courtney Huff (.374 batting average, .637 slugging percentage, five home runs, 26 RBIs, 34 hits, 14 steals and 36 runs).
Also back are junior right fielder Cynnamon Sova-Davy (19 runs, 28 hits, 17 RBIs, .341 batting average and 10 steals) and junior catcher (last season a left fielder) Halie Chain (22 runs, 20 hits, 11 doubles and 12 RBIs).
Again, as in past seasons, the Lady Lions want to put the ball in play to manufacture runs.
"We're a small ball team," Zimmerman said, who is entering his fifth season as head coach with a 70-26 overall record. "We have to be better at it as we aren't blessed with team speed, but we do have some quickness.
"The girls have worked very hard. We put a lot of pressure on them to see who can step up."
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The Lady Lions have had the luxury to have all-state pitcher Lauren Larrick pitching for them the past few seasons and all-district catcher Whitney Hanenkrat behind the plate. Both ladies have graduated, so that means FHS will look to new players to bring success in the pitching circle this year. Last season at the plate, Larrick batted .427 with 16 RBIs, and in the circle, she was 18-8 overall with an ERA of 1.87, added with 225 strikeouts. Hanenkrat batted .398 one year ago with 37 hits, four home runs and a slugging percentage of .656.
Those pitchers will be junior Mikayla Coleman and sophomores Arica Melson and Heather Sanderson. in six games pitched last season, Melson was 1-2 with one save. She has an ERA of 3.26 with 17 strikeouts in 19.1 innings.
"We have to have pitchers who can locate their pitches and give us an opportunity," Zimmerman said. "We can't have a lot of mistakes, and we have to have good defensive play and know the situations on the field."
At the plate and in the field, besides the returning players mentioned, the Lady Lions will also look to Justice Hattan, Heather Sanderson and Shaylee Carson to possibly fill in the vacated starting positions from last season. Also playing for the Lady Lions will be Amanda Sanderson, Morgan Mason, Courtney Rhodes, Courtney Hodson and Grace Larrick.
"We want to be conference champions again," Zimmerman said. "We want to still be competitive. Even though we have a young team, we have achievable goals.
"The girls have big shoes to fill. Like I said earlier, I put pressure on them, and I want to see who can handle it."
Also coaching this season for FHS will be assistant coach Tom Purtell (who is entering his 20th season), Marvin Larrick, Shannon Abbott, Lesley Hattan and Dee Flint.
Described by head coach Matthew Zimmerman as a very talented group with limited varsity experience, the Lady Lions, who went 19-10 in 2012, will return six players who put in many innings at the varsity level, players who will be looked upon to lead FHS to their third straight conference title.
Returning are junior first baseman Shelby Smithson (25 runs, 38 hits, two home runs, 20 RBIs, .413 batting average, .598 slugging percentage), senior second baseman Sirenity Smith (20 RBIs, 18 hits), sophomore shortstop Kaitlin Evans (20 runs, 18 hits, .247 batting average, 13 steals) and senior center fielder Courtney Huff (.374 batting average, .637 slugging percentage, five home runs, 26 RBIs, 34 hits, 14 steals and 36 runs).
Also back are junior right fielder Cynnamon Sova-Davy (19 runs, 28 hits, 17 RBIs, .341 batting average and 10 steals) and junior catcher (last season a left fielder) Halie Chain (22 runs, 20 hits, 11 doubles and 12 RBIs).
Again, as in past seasons, the Lady Lions want to put the ball in play to manufacture runs.
"We're a small ball team," Zimmerman said, who is entering his fifth season as head coach with a 70-26 overall record. "We have to be better at it as we aren't blessed with team speed, but we do have some quickness.
"The girls have worked very hard. We put a lot of pressure on them to see who can step up."
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The Lady Lions have had the luxury to have all-state pitcher Lauren Larrick pitching for them the past few seasons and all-district catcher Whitney Hanenkrat behind the plate. Both ladies have graduated, so that means FHS will look to new players to bring success in the pitching circle this year. Last season at the plate, Larrick batted .427 with 16 RBIs, and in the circle, she was 18-8 overall with an ERA of 1.87, added with 225 strikeouts. Hanenkrat batted .398 one year ago with 37 hits, four home runs and a slugging percentage of .656.
Those pitchers will be junior Mikayla Coleman and sophomores Arica Melson and Heather Sanderson. in six games pitched last season, Melson was 1-2 with one save. She has an ERA of 3.26 with 17 strikeouts in 19.1 innings.
"We have to have pitchers who can locate their pitches and give us an opportunity," Zimmerman said. "We can't have a lot of mistakes, and we have to have good defensive play and know the situations on the field."
At the plate and in the field, besides the returning players mentioned, the Lady Lions will also look to Justice Hattan, Heather Sanderson and Shaylee Carson to possibly fill in the vacated starting positions from last season. Also playing for the Lady Lions will be Amanda Sanderson, Morgan Mason, Courtney Rhodes, Courtney Hodson and Grace Larrick.
"We want to be conference champions again," Zimmerman said. "We want to still be competitive. Even though we have a young team, we have achievable goals.
"The girls have big shoes to fill. Like I said earlier, I put pressure on them, and I want to see who can handle it."
Also coaching this season for FHS will be assistant coach Tom Purtell (who is entering his 20th season), Marvin Larrick, Shannon Abbott, Lesley Hattan and Dee Flint.