Sports
Zumwalt South Softball Team Gunning for Conference Three-Peat
Lady Bulldogs have won 20-plus games the last two years, and are looking for third straight conference title.
After back-to-back seasons running roughshod over the rest of the GAC North and South Conferences, the girls softball team figures to slide back to the rest of the pack during the upcoming fall campaign.
At least that’s what opponents of the Bulldogs hope happens this year.
But don’t count South High head coach Christy Pohlman among those thinking the Bulldogs are set up for a letdown year.
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“I’m not really seeing that,” Pohlman said, during a recent preseason workout for her team. “It’s been kind of a motivator for us really. I don’t want to say we want to prove the doubters wrong or anything like that. But we do want to prove we can be one of the best teams (in the GAC) again.”
That’s going to be quite a task for for the Lady Bulldogs. The team is dealing with the loss of four all-GAC players from last year, including two-time Player of the Year Lexy Moore, who is now a freshman at Purdue University in Indiana.
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“You can’t replace a player like Lexy, or any of the girls we lost,” Pohlman said. “But I think we’ll be OK. It’s kind of exciting to see what we’ll do this year.”
Part of the reason for Pohlman’s excitement this year, is even though the Bulldogs lost four all-GAC players last year, they’ve still got four others returning this season.
The leader of that group is junior outfielder Mackenzie Peter, South’s offensive catalyst, who hit .450, with a home run, 12 doubles, and 24 RBIs last season.
Peter was a first-team all-conference choice, while returning teammates Kayla Lockwood and Teylar Adelsberger (second-team all-GAC selections), and Lexie Gambino (honorable mention) will give Zumwalt South one of the deepest returning lineups of any team in the league this year.
Replacing Moore in the pitcher’s circle this year, will be senior Kayla Ratliff.
Last year, Ratliff appeared in eight contests, and only made four starts. But she won all four of them, and pitched complete games every time as well.
Officially, she had a 4-0 record with a 1.63 ERA, and struck out 31 batters in 30 total innings pitched.
“Kayla’s a great pitcher,” Pohlman said. “She’s got power. She moves the ball around. And she’s got several good pitches.”
For a complete schedule for the Lady Bulldogs, go here.