The Palmerton and Northwestern softball teams feature plenty of talent from teams that had a great deal of success two years ago, something they will try to build on this spring.

Meanwhile at Marian, Joe DeAngelo returns as head coach after a few years away from the program.

JIM THORPE

SENIORS

… Nadya Soliman (SS), Kaitlyn Day (P), Trista Gehris (1B), Christy McLean (OF), Rachel Alexander (1B/OF), Chelsea Shepherdson (OF) all return to coach Lori Lienhard’s roster for their senior season with the program. As of now, Soliman, Day, Gehris and McLean all have locked down starting positions.

MORE EXPERIENCE

… Despite a lost season to COVID-19 a year ago, the Olympians have several other players who gained experience during the 2019 season in juniors Jada Mahmde (C), Kristin Pompa (3B), Carsen Rosenberger (2B), Taylor Mordaunt (1B/OF), Alexia Rohrman (OF/P) and Sophie Patton (C/OF). Among that group, Mahmde, Pompa and Rosenberger have locked down starting positions.

“We have a large number of returning players who are starters,” Lienhard said. “We are looking forward to this having a positive impact on our defensive game, as well as our offense.”

NEWCOMERS

… Nevaeh Snyder (Jr., OF/2B), Amanda Goodchild (So., P/SS/OF), Tara McLean (So., P/OF) and Oleksa McAndrew (Fr., 1B/OF/SS) are all first-year players looking to contribute their talents this season.

ARMS DEVELOPING

… The one position where the Olympians don’t have an abundance of varsity experience is pitcher. Day and Rohrman both had spent some time in the circle, while Goodchild and McLean look to add to the depth in their first varsity seasons as pitchers. “We have a small number of pitchers on our roster this year and got a late start due to the COVID restrictions,” Lienhard said. “The pitchers are working hard to get ready for the opening game.”

COUNTING ON OFFENSE

… Right now, there are two things the Olympians are stressing entering the season. “Our number one goal is to work as a team,” Lienhard said. “We are also counting on our offense to put runs on the board and take some of the pressure off of the pitchers.”

LEHIGHTON

THEY’RE BACK

… A year after missing the entire 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indians welcome back five returnees from 2019 in Kendra Peterman (Sr., OF/DH), Paige Shellhammer (Sr., OF/DH), Alyssa Myers (Jr., Utility), Cheyenne Whiteman (Jr., SS/OF), and Abbie Miller (So., P/3B).

PUSHING FOR PLAYING TIME

… Sophomores Mia Snyder (P/1B), Amy Dwojewski (Utility) and Anna Laible (Utility), as well as freshmen Mallory Valentine (INF), Madyson Bergdahl (C), Addison Chjavanic (3B/OF), Maggie Pagotto (Utility) and Marlee Craig (P/OF) all have the potential to earn spots in the starting lineup.

YOUTH MOVEMENT

… With few experienced players on the roster, Lehighton head coach David Yob will be counting heavily on underclassmen. “To say that we’re young is an understatement,” Yob said. “Between the varsity and the JV programs, we have 10 sophomores and 10 freshmen. Because we lost last season and none of those sophomores have played high school softball before, it’s really like having 20 freshmen. Despite our youth, however, we feel we have the talent to be competitive. But we will need time to grow up.”

AGENDA IN PLACE

… The Indians have taken the steps to get themselves prepared for this season. “The team is working on their skill set and developing good team chemistry,” Yob said. “Even though this is probably the youngest group I’ve ever coached, they are very coachable and are eager to improve.”

DIFFERENT YEAR, SAME GOAL

… Yob said the goal for each season tends to always stay the same. “My goal, as always, is for the team to qualify for districts,” Yob said. “With hard work and a little bit of luck, we will do it.”

MARIAN

HE’S BACK

… After a few years away from the program, Joe DeAngelo is back as the Fillies’ head coach. DeAngelo served eight years with the program in his first stint at Marian. “As far as my return to coaching, it was totally unexpected,” DeAngelo said. “I thought for sure I was done. When the position opened, I was asked if I had any interest in coming back. After a lot of thought, I decided that since I am still teaching and know the girls, that I would be willing to do it. So far, I’ve greatly enjoyed working with the players, and am excited about our prospects.”

GONE

… The lost 2020 season cost Marian the services of several talented senior players to graduation in Lyndsey Reinoehl, Emily Shaud, Macy Alansky, Lacey Blasko and Abbey Joy.

BIG THREE

… Athena Matenkoski (Sr., 1B), Mia Nemeth (Sr., 3B) and Eden Arnold (Jr., OF) are the Fillies’ lone experienced returnees. DeAngelo will be looking to them for leadership on and off the field this season.

YOUTH MOVEMENT

… Several underclassmen will be counted on heavily this season. Among those to watch are, Alise Heisey (So., SS), Jackie Guth (So., OF), Gracie Gallagher (Fr., 2B), Anna Grabosky (Fr., C) and Morgan Kelly (Fr., P).

IN GOOD HANDS

… Matenkoski and Nemeth will both be playing softball at the next level and will be counted on heavily this season.

“Matenkoski and Nemeth are both college signees,” DeAngelo said. “They provide us with two quality players at the top of the order and corner infield positions.”

KEEP IMPROVING

… With so many young players being counted on, DeAngelo realizes that it will take the Fillies a little time to reach their potential.

“With such a young team, improvement as the season progresses is our main goal,” DeAngelo said. “We’re hoping to be in contention for league and district success.”

NORTHERN LEHIGH

LEADER OF THE PACK

… Kate Farber is back for her fourth season coaching the Bulldogs. Returning at her side as assistant coaches are Jason Reinhard, Jason Smith and Jackie (Leslie) Miller - a former teammate of Farber during their playing days at No. Lehigh

MAJOR HIT

… The Bulldogs lost seven seniors from a year ago - Shyanna Williams (SS), Madison Peters (3B), Lauren Hoffman (2B), Brianna Schuck (C), Alicia Horn (P), Allison Handwerk (RF) and Paige Hude (CF). All of them would have been starters if the 2020 season was played. “Losing seven seniors means we are now very young,” said Farber. “Our younger players have big shoes to fill, but we still have high expectations.”

RETURNING

… Julia Wannamaker is the Bulldogs lone senior this season. She is joined by juniors Brianna Hess (1B) and Kendall Heiney (P) as players with varsity experience.

STANDING OUT

… Sophomores Jordyn Hemingway (3B) and Cadence Peters (C), along with freshman Arabella Heintzelman (SS) already have caught the attention of the NL coaching staff and could be key players this season.

DEFENSIVE MINDSET

… The Bulldogs’ defense has looked good during preseason practice.

“Our strength will be defense,” Farber said. “Staying grounded and calm. Being able to give up runs and keep our heads will be keys for us.”

EXPECTATIONS

… “Our goal is to build back and move forward,” Farber said. “Staying competitive within our league and district is the goal. We want to keep Bulldog softball on the map.”

NORTHWESTERN

THE POWER COMPANY

... The Tigers should have loads of power this season and coach Josh Zimmerman is looking forward to what they can do with the bats in his lineup.

“I told the players that if we don’t lead the league in home runs this season, something is wrong,” Zimmerman said with a smile. “We have a lot of girls who can hit home runs and I really think that our offense is going to be really good right from the start of the season.”

WHEN LAST WE SAW THEM

... The Tigers were 14-2 in Colonial League play in the 2019 season and finished 18-5 overall. They lost to eventual league champion Palmerton in the playoffs, and then went to the finals of districts, where they lost to Blue Mountain. That 2019 team was a young team that had just two seniors, leaving high expectations for last season. The season lost to COVID cost the team just two more players to graduation, which leaves the expectations for this season still high.

THEY GROW UP SO FAST

... The nine freshmen and sophomore players from 2019 are now juniors and seniors ready to help the team. Northwestern is also helped by the fact that several of its players play in other leagues after the high school season and were able to get some game action in last year. Seniors Adana Funk, Molly Mitman, Sam Sisco, Abigail Snyder and Kylie Zentz will all contribute, and juniors Brynn Balliet and Morgan Farthing will also shoulder much of the load.

ARE THEY ANY GOOD?

... With a season off, it’s difficult for coaches to know how good their team might be and impossible to know who else might be good. Not every team was fortunate to have young players contributing so highly back in 2019.

“You really just don’t know because we lost that year for players to develop,” said Zimmerman. “You can usually go with teams like Bangor and Palmerton and Notre Dame who always have talent and put together good teams.”

PALMERTON

EXCITED TO BE PLAYING

… “We are certainly excited about the prospect of having a season this year,” Bombers’ coach Bob Hock said. “It has been a long, strange year. As bad as it was for last year’s seniors, I know myself and the other coaches were really worried about this year’s group of seniors’ also losing their season. But It seems like there is a light at the end of the tunnel for everyone, and hopefully by the end of our season, we will be back to normal.”

GRADUATED

… Lexi Merkel, Kailah Altemose, Breanna Hartranft, Emily Recker, Makenzie Silliman, Tory Sterling and Grace Costenbader all lost out on a chance to make the most of their final hurrah due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

READY FOR TAKE OFF

… Current seniors Emily Baumgardt (SS/2B/P), Megan Green (C/1B), Yesmine Olewine (2B/SS) and Megan Serfass (P/OF) lead a talented group of returning Bombers. They will be joined by experienced juniors Kaylee Strohl (3B/OF), Madalynn Moyer (1B/P), Alyssa Silliman (OF/UTILITY) and Shannon Dougherty (C).

NEWCOMERS

… Sophomores Madison Theisen (3B/C), Kelsey Balliet (C/INF) and Liz Sterner (INF/OF), as well as freshmen Sydney Frantz (OF/P), Carly Gaffney (P/2B), Cadee Munjone (P/PF), and Megan Matsko (3B/1B/SS) all made the varsity cut this season.

BOMBER STRONG

… Hock, who is in his 8th season with the program, feels the foursome of Baumgardt, Green, Olewine and Serfass are an outstanding nucleus to build around.

“Our strength this year will be the four returning seniors filling our middle defensive positions - catcher, shortstop, second base and center field. Along with the seniors, I believe we have an extraordinarily talented group of underclassmen.”

DETERMINATION

… The Bombers are ready to take flight on the 2021 season.

“We are hoping to get off to a good start, and continually improve during the season. We then want to carry that over to postseason play,” said Hock.

PANTHER VALLEY

ALL IN

… Candace Olson is smiling from ear to ear around a softball field this season. She is ready to enter her seventh season with the program, and will be joined by assistants Pete Malaska, Tara Yuricheck. Gerald New and Cara Hoffman. “I am very excited to finally be having a spring sport season,” Olson said. “Last year’s cancellation hit me pretty hard, and I know it hit last year’s seniors hard as well. COVID is giving us some extra work and precautions to follow, but if it allows the spring sports season to happen in full, I’m all for it.”

FIELD WORK

… New for this season, the Panthers will have dugouts in place at their field for the first time.

“Come to a Panther Valley home game this year and you will be able to see the new dugouts that are soon to be completed,” Olson said. “This is something that I’ve been pushing for since I started here, and with the help of my awesome Booster Club and the Mauch Chunk Trust Company, who donated the money to make this happen, we will have them this season.”

KEY LOSSES

… Olson mentioned last year’s group of seniors who were denied their final year of high school ball by COVID-19. Missing out were Megan Pascoe, Claire Kokinda, Faith Drumbore, Meghan Boyle, Katrina Horvath and Lyddia Malaska.

VETERANS

… Alexis Cooper (2B), Cierra Ohl (3B), Brenna Beshock (P) and Macansey Evans (OF) all gained experience during the 2019 season.

“I expect my girls to play their hearts out, and play to the best of their abilities,” Olson said. “We have a long way to go, but we can have a successful season if we continue to work hard and keep progressing the way we have in the first few weeks.”

OTHERS TO WATCH

… Elizabeth Rex (Sr., C/INF), Mickayla Yuricheck (Fr., Utility) and Nikkoal Kriemendahl (Fr., INF) will look to make some noise in their first varsity season.

SMALL SCHOOL MOTIVATION

… “With a small team, the cohesion seems to be in our favor this year,” Olson said. “With a few returning players and a lot of new faces, the returning players are helping the new girls become better every practice. The new girls on the team are willing to learn and work hard to get better as well. We have a good group of girls this year who are willing to work hard and put the effort into bettering themselves every day.”

PLEASANT VALLEY

MAINSTAY

… Steve Caffrey enters his 29th season as the Bears’ head coach. Drew Dymond, Dan Beck and Katie Lenhart will be his assistants.

PRESEASON CHAT

… After missing out on last season, there figures to be a transition for the Bears to get back into the swing of things.

“Things are going fairly well right now,” Caffrey said. “Unfortunately, we were shut down for a few days during the past week due to COVID concerns. Hopefully, this won’t be the norm, and we can continue to move forward.”

GRADUATION LOSSES

… Alyssa Wagner (C), Riley Wagner (CF) and Cameron Caffrey (SS) all lost their senior seasons to COVID a year ago.

STARTING FRESH

… It hasn’t happened in a long time, but Caffrey must start from scratch with his lineup card this season.

“We have a team without any varsity experience,” Caffrey said. “There’s not one varsity starter returning.”

BEARS ON THE PROWL

… Seniors Kara Thourot (2B), Sage Frey (Utility/DP), and Aaren Day (Utility) will be looked to for their leadership. Juniors Eve Kratzer (1B/OF), Emily Roberti (OF), Mandi Beade (OF), and Ariana Mulligan (P), will join freshmen Hailey Krock (SS), Danica Getz (3B), Samantha Ratti (C), Madilyn Warden (1B/OF) and Madison Dorshimer (P) in the competition for starting positions.

“We have a lot of young and new players who seem to be eager to get things started,” Caffrey said.

SETTING GOALS … “The last couple of years we’ve finished in the middle of our division in the EPC,” Caffrey said. “This year, we are setting our goal to compete for a division title and be competitive with the rest of the league.”

TAMAQUA

EXCITED ABOUT THE SEASON

… Jillian Barron returns for her 11th year as the Raiders head coach.

“Missing out on the season last year was tough,” Barron said. “This year we want to stay healthy and work to be better every day. We will put our best lineup from top to bottom on the field, and work to be competitive every game. We will strive every day to have a successful season.”

LOSSES

… Maxine Beers, Jen Frederickson and Baylee Reinhardt all graduated a year ago. Meanwhile, Ally Frederick (Sr., C) and Gabby Robb (Jr., 3B) are going to miss out on the season due to ACL injuries suffered playing winter sports.

THEY’RE BACK

… Alexsya Thomas (Sr., CF), Ella McLaughlin (Sr., OF) and Bryn Clifford (Jr., P) are the Blue Raiders experienced returnees this season.

LOTS OF OPTIONS

… Barron only has a few returnees listed on her roster. But she definitely has numbers on her side with a host of underclassmen pushing for playing time. That group includes Riley Zeigenfuss (Sr., 3B/2B), Breanna Thomas (Jr., OF), Trenyce Wingler (Jr., 1B), Hailey Williams (So., SS), Riley MacMillan (So., 2B/OF), Ashlyn Houser (So., P/2B/OF), Kailey Richards (So., P/3B), Haley Giuliano (So., C/OF), Courtney Loar (Sr., DH/OF), Alexus Warne (Sr., C/OF), Kaylee Kuhn (So., OF), Megan Lavine (So., 2B), Samantha Letkowski (So., 3B/1B/OF) and Destini Denning (Fr., C/OF).

BIG BATS

… “We have some strong bats throughout our lineup that I believe will come through and produce some key runs for us this season,” Barron said. “Also, the fact that we did not have a season last year has made the girls eager to get out on the field and play. They have been working hard at practice every day. That energy alone, I believe will give them the drive to get out there, have fun, and prove themselves.”

TWEAKING THE DEFENSE

… While Barron has been pleased with the team’s look offensively, she is still working to fine tune the defense.

“We are trying to find our defensive rotation right now,” Barron said. “Losing Ally Frederick and Gabby Robb due to ACL injuries from basketball this past winter hurts a bit. We have been working hard though with girls to fill those positions for us.”

WEATHERLY

SENIOR LEADERS

… Alexis Colecio (C), Kelly Royer (CF), Amanda Colecio (1B) and Ashley James (3B) are set to enter their final year with the Wreckers. The Wreckers are solid behind the plate, at the corner infield spots, as well as center field, with their seniors occupying those positions.

GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION

… Sophomore Madyson Vonfrisch (P) and freshman Marissa Hoffman (SS) may be young, but have definitely impressed their coaches in preseason workouts. Wreckers’ mentor Will Bartel labeled them as “players to watch” this season.

LOOKING FOR PLAYING TIME

… Among those competing for playing time are Kelly Royer (Sr.), Ally Bloom (Sr.), Adrianna Dotzel (So.), Kelly Michaels (So.), Raynessa Diaz (So.), Juliette Bartel (Fr.), Bethany Houser (Fr.), Anna Bloom (Fr.), Evelyn Ford (Fr.) and Jeassa Colon (Fr.).

INEXPERIENCED

… With seven freshmen on the roster, the Wreckers have a lot of inexperience on the squad.

“We have a young, inexperienced team,” Bartel said. “Only four girls have played varsity softball. Like everyone else, COVID stole valuable time from the younger girls. There will be growing pains as kids learn on the job about varsity softball.”

READY TO PLAY

… “The girls and coaching staff are excited to step on the field, and are ready to compete against these tough teams in the Schuylkill League,” Bartel said. “The team wants to make the playoffs and go as far as our talents will take us.”

Chuck Hixson also contributed to this preview