The Winona Christian Lady Stars will kick of their fast-pitch season this Saturday when they host a season-opening tournament.
The Lady Stars lost four seniors off of last year’s team that went 17-21 but finished second in the district and third in North 3A Tournament last year.
Gone from that team are McKinley Ingram, Caylon Marlow, Harlee Whitten and Hope Pierce.
“We have got a hard-working team,” WCS coach John Harris said. “When you lose four seniors that produced on offense and defense like those four, you have to find some players who are going to step up and fill those shoes. I think that’s the biggest thing for us this year, filling those voids that we lost.”
Harris said he is fortunate to have more depth than in recent years, causing quite a bit of competition during summer practices.
“We have had a good summer and a good offseason,” Harris said. “We’ve got some depth and we’ve got some speed. Depth is always good when you have to practice and compete in practice. It keeps the players from getting lazy and content. If you get lazy, there is somebody there to take that spot. And we have got some speed this year. If we can get them on base, I think we can create some opportunities.”
The action is set to start at 7:45 a.m. Saturday in the Winona Christian Tournament with the Lady Stars hosting Indianola. The 9 am. Contest has Manchester tangling with Carroll, while Indianola and Benton face off at 10:15 a.m. Central Holmes and Manchester meet in the 11:30 a.m. contest with Benton and WCS facing of at 12:45 p.m. and the 2 p.m. match-up between Carroll and Central Holmes wrapping up the tourney.
The Stars have five seniors this season in Haley Beckwith, Madyson Leach, Rana Paige Davis, Ashley Parkinson and Hanna Beckwith.
Harris said he was hesitant to name starters at this point because the competition was still wide open at some positions.
In the circle Harris has both starters back in Allie Rawles and Sara Rawles, who pitched the majority of innings last season.
“Both of them pitched a lot last year and will be improved this year,” Harris said. “They have been looking good this summer. We have put them in some live situations and they have thrown the ball well. They are getting to be a lot smarter pitchers. The older they get, the more mature they are getting. They aren’t just throwing, they are focusing on locating and knowing the situation.”
Harris said it’s imperative that the Lady Stars replace the offensive production lost from last season.
“We’ve got to step up at the plate,” Harris said. “Those seniors we lost were good ones. I’ve got some returning starters and some good young players that played a big role in last year. But to have a good year, we have to have some players step up and be more consistent at the plate.”
The Stars, who were 7-1 in district play last year, will compete with Carroll, Central Holmes, Oak Hill and Indianola. After a season-opening tournament this weekend, Winona will open district play on Tuesday, Aug. 4 with a road trip to Oak Hill “I think the district is wide open,” Harris said. “I think our district has stepped up and all of them are competitive. If you don’t show up, you can get beat on any night. They are all well coached teams. I don’t think some of the other teams lost as much as we did. I know we can’t overlook anybody and have to take it one game at a time.”
