The Edmonds-Woodway softball team is prepared to take some lumps this season.
The Warriors likely field one of the youngest teams in the Western Conference South Division. Six freshmen cracked the varsity roster and up to five of them may be starting at some point during the season.
“We’re very young,” said Edmonds-Woodway coach Mike Venable. “We’ve got some good young talent. It might take a while for us to mesh.”
The Warriors are younger than last year, yet they are more experienced. Many of the 2010 squad are select players, while last year’s team didn’t have many who played softball outside of school.
Edmonds-Woodway is looking to senior captains Melissa Pond and Molly McLachlan to provide leadership for the younger players. Another veteran returner is junior shortstop Kirstin Hayes.
“It’s a matter of playing together for a while and getting used to each other,” Venable said.
Edmonds-Woodway sends out a freshman battery in pitcher Katelynn Lafferty and catcher Cassady Orstad. The good news is the two know each other well, having been teammates on an outside team.
Lafferty throws up to five different pitches.
“She’s got the whole repertoire,” Venable said. “She uses at least three of them (in games) depending on which ones are working for us. She throws the rise, drop curve, fastball and changeup. She’s got a good variety of pitches.”
The infield defense looks to be solid with Hayes and second baseman Michelle Rumpel, who saw a little playing time as a freshman.
“They have some experience playing together,” Venable said. “We’ve got a lot of speed in the middle part of our infield.”
Freshman Sydney Forseth takes over at centerfield.
Some of the other players have struggled early on with their defense, mainly because some of them are playing out of position. More games will add to the comfort level, Venable said.
“Everybody is becoming more acclimated to their positions,” he said. “That’s a good sign.”
Edmonds-Woodway has good speed up and down the lineup. Venable expects the Warriors to be stealing bases, bunting and generally putting the ball in motion. The power will be provided by Laffery and freshman Brooklynn Bailey.
Venable is looking for continued progress from his young team, especially during the second half of the regular season.
“We’ll be much improved as we go through the lineup again,” he said. “If we come together sooner we could vie for the final spot to districts. That would be our goal.”
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