Since Mansfield has become a spring only softball program with their fall sports addition of volleyball, just the Norwood Lady Pirates and Hartville Lady Eagles will be playing on the diamond this fall.
Norwood Lady
Pirates
A young Norwood Lady Pirates’ softball team is entering this fall with the hopes of using their experience from last season to take a big step towards success over the next couple of months. Norwood was 7-13 last fall before finishing with a 6-8 record in the spring. Lady Pirates head coach Lori Drake said the team’s strength is that they compete. “We only won seven games last fall, but we were competitive in all but one or two games,” Coach Drake said.
“We came out in the spring and played an abbreviated schedule, but showed improvement that rolled into our summer season. We hope those experiences pay off this fall and help us to continue to be competitive and get some wins. Since we are still very young, we need to work hard each day in practice to learn game situations and improve our fundamentals. Goals will be to keep improving and playing together as a team. Several will be newcomers or playing a new position, so how quickly we adjust to these changes will be important.”
Leading this year’s squad will be senior pitcher Cassie Chadwell, who is the lone Lady Pirates’ player left from the 2018 Final Four team.
Chadwell started her career as an outfielder and was a shortstop her sophomore season before taking over as the team’s main pitcher the last two seasons. Offensively, she led the team with a .327 batting average. On the mound, she had a 5.62 ERA and went 7-13 with 83 strikeouts.
“She grew up around the and is a fierce competitor,” Drake said.
The infield features a mixture of experience with junior Kylee Bradshaw (C) and junior Catelin Campbell (2B).
Campbell scored 17 runs last season and led the team with nine stolen bases.
It also includes sophomores Hailey Hall, Annie Sullivan, Brooke Johnson and freshman Autumn Gunter. Hall is likely to move from first base to the left side of the infield this season. Sullivan will provide the big bat to the line-up while bringing experience to the outfield with Johnson. She had a .321 batting average last year.
In the outfield, sophomore Cadence Jarrett will lead the team as she replaces her sister Rainy Jarrett. Rainy placed centerfield for three years for the Lady Pirates before graduating last season. Other key players include junior Harlie Finch, sophomore Patience Guenther as well as freshmen Natalee Lawson, Dana Harden and Katelynn Bennett.
“They could potentially play big roles for us down the road, so we are hopeful they will learn quickly and be ready to step in and contribute,” Drake said.
Hartville Lady Eagles
In returning eight letter winners from a 10-12 fall and 4-8 spring team last year, the Hartville Lady Eagles softball team are in position to make a push for their first Summit Conference title since 2013. They finished second in both seasons during the 2020-2021 campaign.
Key returners include seniors Zoey Jordan (C), Rami Murr (P), Centauri Todd (OF), Alexus Walker (IF), Molly Brown (IF), Emilee Coday (IF), Breyanna Flachsmann (P/IF) and Jenna Kelley (OF).
Kelley earned both All-Conference and All-District honors during her freshman campaign. Both Todd and Brown also earned All-Conference honors.
Top newcomers include McKinley Sanders, who hasn’t played since her freshman year. Others include Emma Cook, Ella Boyer, Erin Still, Haley Parker and Katia Todd. Hartville’s line-up will be missing the help of graduating seniors Carly Calton, Shyla Jordan and Madalynn Vaughn.
“Our success is going to come down to how well we hit,” said Hartville head coach Andrew Doyle. “We have improved on putting the ball in play, but now we have to put it in play hard. The top of our lineup is going to be the key for us to have success. They have earned that spot, now they need to go show why. Centauri Todd most likely will lead us off. She is our catalyst, and the team feeds off her success at the plate.”
Doyle said Cook will use her speed at the top of the line-up and Sanders’ leadership can be key to the offense.
“The rest of the order, no matter who it is, has the ability to be very productive. We have some players with speed and gap to gap power,” Doyle said.
Defensively, Doyle’s goal is to have two errors or less a game. As for pitching, Murr is a senior and returns after throwing all but one inning last fall. Flachsmann has put in a lot of work in the offseason and will also be a key contributor from the mound this season.
Overall, Doyle said he has high expectations for his squad. “We have set some team goals that haven’t been accomplished for a few years,” Doyle said. “We want to finish with a winning record and by doing that it will certainly help us reach some of our other goals. We are excited for the upcoming season and the direction the program is headed.”
