KENT-MERIDIAN ROYALS AT A GLANCE
• COACH: Jennifer England, 1st season
• LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 0-16
• TOP RETURNERS: 3 returning starters including: Shelby Gardiner, senior, catcher and first base; Cherry Alejo, junior, pitcher and third base; Anna Seng, senior, shortstop and pitcher.
• OUTLOOK: The Royals have a lot of work ahead of them this year with only three returners. With this being the first time playing softball for most of the girls, Kent Meridian has its work cut out for itself, but England is optimistic and wants to keep improving. “Look for a strong emphasis on offense from the Royals this year,” England said.
KENTWOOD CONQUERORS AT A GLANCE
• COACH: Jason Wisor, 6th season
• LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 15-9, missed state last year by one game. Last league title in 2009.
• TOP RETURNERS: 6 returning starters including: Allison Newcomb, senior, catcher; Jaclyn Rainey, junior, outfielder; Tiana Faagalulu, junior, shortstop; Kendall Goodwin, sophomore, pitcher; McKenna Johnson, sophomore, second base; and Courtni Easton, sophomore, outfielder.
• OUTLOOK: Although the Conquerors have a lot of young returners, those same girls pack a lot of talent into just a few key players. Newcomb, Rainey and Goodwin were all first-team All-SPSL performers and Johnson and Easton were honorable mentions as freshmen last year.
KENTRIDGE CHARGERS AT A GLANCE
• COACH: Julie Simonson, 6th season
• LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 10-12, 1-2 in both SPSL and District Tournaments.
• TOP PERFORMERS: 5 top performers including: Lizzet Dominguez, junior, pitcher; Jessica Torlai, junior, middle infielder; Brianne Drury, sophomore, infielder; Emily Ross, senior, catcher; and Anna Dugan, junior, outfielder.
• OUTLOOK: The Chargers have some key returners, even though they’ve got a pretty young team with only two seniors. Coach Simonson is optimistic about the potential her team has for this season. “We have great team chemistry, and we look forward to playing hard and improving throughout the season,” Simonson said.
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