EDWARDSVILLE – Metro East Lutheran softball coach Colin McLaughlin is excited about his team's prospects for the upcoming softball season.
“We have a little bit larger team this year,” McLaughlin said. “We have 21 total girls on the roster; that's nice to have a little bit more depth. We have a lot of returning athletes and we have quite a few new additions as well, some freshmen, a transfer too and a couple of girls who have been at the school for a few years and decided to come out and try softball.”
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The Knights finished last season at 5-21, reaching the IHSA Class 1A Lebanon Regional final, defeating Valmeyer in the semifinal before falling to the host Greyhounds in the final.
MEL enters the season with Cierra Frields as the ace of the pitching staff. “We always get a lot out of Cierra Frields – she's our No. 1 pitcher,” McLaughlin said. “We have Sami Kasting returning; she provides a lot for us at the top of the lineup and at shortstop. Sidney Vetter really was a strong anchor for us last year as a cleanup hitter and our No. 1 catcher.
“We get some good leadership out of girls like Katie Houba and McKenzie Lang as well, who have been with the program for four years.”
MEL's 5-21 mark last year was an improvement from 2015. “I really do think we've got significant improvement this year,” McLaughlin said. “I do expect we'll be a better team overall. Hopefully, it'll be a learning experience; a lot of our girls are new to the sport, a lot of our girls play throughout the year.” The Knights open the season Tuesday at home against Valmeyer, then spend St. Patrick's weekend in an early-season tournament in Jonesboro, Ark.,
Among the newcomers for MEL include Skye Mayberry-Lopolato, who will be a catcher for the Knights; Kylee Coyne, who transferred to the program from Collinsville; and freshmen Arrington Farmer and Destiny Williams.
“We always have a goal of improving and showing a positive attitude on the field,” McLaughlin said about MEL's goals for the 2017 season. “On the field, we want to improve on the 5-21 record; we have a lot of space to improve.
“I think the strength of the team is probably going to be infield defense; that's good for us because that's been an area we've struggled with in the past. I think we'll actually have some depth on the infield. I think we can fill out a lineup pretty solidly as well.”
McLaughlin is expecting pretty solid competition in the Prairie State Conference this season and believes they can get farther in the postseason this year. “Last year, we won our first game in the regional,” McLaughlin said. “We did get knocked out in the second game. Hopefully, we can make it a little bit further this year, and I think this team has a chance to do that if we come together and continue to improve like I think we're capable.
“I think it'll be a fun season; we have a couple of new coaches that I think really bring a lot to the program. One's an alumni, Morgan Schneider, and the girls really like her; the other is Lexi Rollet, she's played in college some and brings a lot of energy and experience to the program. The girls have really enjoyed working with her as well.”
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