Young Wildcats take aim at another title

EVERETT

New Archbishop Murphy softball coach Linsi Moy has a young team to lead as the Wildcats try to win their third consecutive Class 2A District 1 title.

The Wildcats have only two seniors, all-conference first-team shortstop Kaitlin Duffy and first-team pitcher/first baseman Kayelynne Huggins. Eight players are sophomores and two are freshmen.

“We do have a pretty young team,” Duffy said. “I think we can make it to state. We have some things to work on. It’s a definite possibility.”

Moy said she’s focused on helping her second-year players avoid “the sophomore slump.”

Last year, Archbishop Murphy went undefeated in Cascade Conference play and continued their unbeaten streak through the district playoffs. The Wildcats lost in the state quarterfinals to Othello and were later eliminated from trophy contention by Colville. They finished the season 25-2.

Even with their youth, the Wildcats should be at the top of the conference again this season. Districts will be tougher, with teams like Northwest League champion Burlington- Edison moving down to 2A.

Huggins, an experienced, hard-throwing pitcher, will eat up most of the innings, with sophomore Brittany Allen also seeing time on the mound.

First-team all-conference junior Kristin Ehlebracht plays center field with Allen, sophomore Ali Tapert and freshman Ally Hines filling the other outfield slots.

Freshman Marya Oestreich starts at catcher, while sophomores Jaimee Greenup and Caitlin Perez play the infield. Junior Amber Hines is the backup catcher and plays the infield as well.

Moy, a former college pitcher, throws live batting practice which should definitely improve the team’s hitting, Duffy said. Moy hopes she can expose her team to the kind of advanced pitching they’ll see in the postseason.

This is the first head coaching job for Moy, who originally was hired as an assistant. The incumbent coach, Brad Johnson, resigned because of a non-coaching-related career change, and Moy applied for the job and got it. An Inglemoor High graduate, Moy pitched collegiately at Edmonds Community College and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. She previously served as an assistant coach at Lewis &Clark College in Portland.