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Softball Preview: Ready or not, locals taking diamond

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One hand is all that’s needed to count up the amount of full practices on the softball diamond that La Canada High, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and Flintridge Prep have been able to take part in as the 2017 season dawns.

Mix in a few players who are still involved in winter sports and an injury here or there and plenty of questions surround the local trio as the season’s start is approaching – weather permitting, of course.

“Together, I haven’t had the starting lineup out there together but once or twice,” second-year Spartans Coach Chuck Gunter said of how limited practices have been due to the weather.

“Individually, I think they’re all ready, but as a group, as a team, I feel we’re behind. But what can you do?”

So, ready or not, the Spartans, Tologs and Rebels are beginning a new season with all three hoping to return to the postseason as all three advanced last season, though La Cañada is the only squad with aspirations of repeating as league champion and appears to have the most players returning to the field.

“We’ve pretty much got our solid core back,” Gunter said.

All-Area selections Holly Stoner (junior, pitcher), Emily Tinkham (sophomore, shortstop), Alexis Abboud (junior, utility), Taryn Harris (junior, catcher) and Maddy Reilly (junior, centerfielder) are all back from a team that went 19-7, advanced to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs and won the Rio Hondo League with an 11-1 mark.

“The first goal, the first priority, is to win league,” said Gunter, who expects Monrovia to likely be the Spartans’ stiffest competition for the top league spot.

Gunter also expects lofty contributions from senior pitcher Meghan Henry, senior first baseman Gillian Arnold and senior infielder Abby Au, with Arnold, Harris and Tinkham making up the heart of the batting order.

Over at Flintridge Sacred Heart, the Tologs (16-8-1 last season) picked up a Division V wild-card win before a first-round loss to end a season in which it took third in the Sunshine League. But in 2017, the Tologs will return to the Mission League along with Louisville.

“We’re back in the Mission League, so, to be honest, [the goal is] just to compete,” Tologs Coach Kirk Nishiyama said.

While the Tologs are looking to compete, expectations are higher for returning All-Area sophomore shortstop Amanda Ramirez, who is back to lead a lineup that will feature junior captain Alli Lombardo, a pitcher and second baseman, senior captain Bridget Garrity, a third baseman, junior outfielder Payton Tomkins and junior pitcher Courtney Rasic.

While Nishiyama has a talented group of returners back, practicing has been a huge problem up on the hill at Flintridge Sacred Heart where the end of the rains doesn’t translate into a dry field until days have passed.

“If we go live, our outfielders are slipping all over,” Nishiyama said. “We’re doing the best we can.”

And even with a tougher schedule in league, Nishiyama has hopes that the Tologs’ best can get them back to the postseason.

“If we can be at .500 or a little better and try to sneak in the playoffs,” he said, “then that would be the ultimate goal.”

After a long absence from the playoffs, Flintridge Prep has made the postseason two straight years, with coach Julie Mejia’s squad posting a 14-6 record that included a Division VI first-round win over Boron before a second-round loss to eventual runner-up Savanna.

The Rebels tied for second in the Prep League behind champion Chadwick, a team that Mejia believes is the favorite to win league again.

Two-time All-Area standout Natalie Dale, a junior, should be back at shortstop to lead the Rebels, but numbers could be a problem as only 12 or 13 players are likely to be on the team in comparison to 17 last season.

“I’m confident in our core, we do have a strong returning core,” Mejia said. “We’d like to get back to the playoffs and finish top three in league. I think that’s realistic.

“Just to have a positive season on and off the field. We do have a great crop of seniors and I’d like to send them off on a positive note.”

Sophomore first baseman Libby Penn and sophomore outfielder Melissa Grande will play vital roles, but the core group of seniors Mejia mentioned includes second baseman Maia Cohen, third baseman Maya Vasquez and pitcher Therese Oshiro, who’s been a constant for the Rebels in the circle and a key contributor at the plate.

“She’s always been very consistent,” Mejia said. “We know we can always count on her.”

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