Before she had a chance to utter a word to her Westport High School softball team players, coach Kim Rego was a bit taken aback by what she saw. Not that the vision was bad. As a matter of fact, it was just the opposite.
"The first day of practice they got all the equipment and were up at the field before I even got there," Rego said. "That in itself to me shows some promise. It shows me they're focused on softball."
Work to do
They'd better be. The Wildcats, who last year earned their first postseason berth in three seasons, have some work to do in order to equal last year's 10-4 Mayflower League mark and 12-9 overall record.
The Wildcats lost six of nine starters including the first baseman, second baseman, third basemen and shortstop, the third through seventh hitters and the pitcher who logged the most innings.
Gone are shortstop Leigh Hammontree, pitcher/infielder Krystal McConnell, third baseman Ashley Ford, second baseman Sarah Simonin and outfielders Jess Anctil and Allie Gagnon.
"Probably the two biggest spots to fill are Krystal's and Leigh's," said Rego. "But we've got 11 coming back. That's definitely a positive sign. Probably seven or eight of them got good varsity time last year. I expect good things out of them this year."
McConnell is the player who pitched more often than not. Senior Brianne Loranger hurled the rest of the time but not as often as McConnell. Loranger and Coyle Cassidy transfer Kara Lewis, a junior, will share pitching duties this season.
"Brie puts a lot of time and effort into it," Rego said. "She pitched in the off-season. Kara, I'm pretty impressed with what she has. She's got some heat. And she's got a very good selection of pitches."
Junior Brooke Arsenault was the starting catcher last season and figures to be behind the plate again this year. However, she'll be pushed by sophomore Janelle Levesque for playing time.
Outfielders galore
The Westport coach has a bevy of outfielders from which to choose three starters. However, she doesn't have enough infielders so she'll be making some moves to, forgive the pun, cover all the bases.
"I've got to move a couple of outfielders into the infield," Rego said. "Basically the whole infield is going to be new. Some of them aren't used to playing those positions. I've got confidence in them that eventually it might gel."
Junior Lacy Freitas probably will start at shortstop with classmate Rachel Dufault manning the third base position. Someone will have to take over Simonin's second base spot, with returning sophomore Ce Ce Blouin a prime candidate. Fellow returning sophomore Kayla Vincelette, who played some first base last year, could log more time there this season.
Sophomore Corinne Moniz, who showed she could play outfield last year, probably has earned a starting center field or left field position. Among those battling for the two other outfield positions are returning players Kate Boyle, Karin Gizzi, Alex Barroso and Kelsey Riley, as well as newcomers Alyssa Branquinho, Alicia Oliveira, Kia Murphy, Lindsey Cross, Kelcie Sowersby and Jenna Arsenault.
As of Monday the players had been practicing for a week. While they haven't had much of a chance to hit outdoors, they've been able to take some swings in the gym and have been surprisingly successful for the early season.
"I was impressed by what I saw in the batting cage and how they did against live pitching too," Rego said. "They were swinging pretty well against both our pitchers. And it wasn't just one or two kids."
The 'Cats have to be ready for real by Monday, March 31. That's when the regular season starts. As long as the players continue to hunger to play the game, they should do well.
"Hopefully they stay with the desire to be here," said the coach. "If they do, eventually things will shape up. I'm impressed by the general dynamics of the team."
By Steve Rogers
srogers@eastbaynewspapers.com