Season Preview: Simley Softball Hopes to Move Up in Classic Suburban Upper Division

The Simley softball team is hoping to make big strides with a young squad in the competitive Classic Suburban Conference under eleventh-year head coach Kelly Darrow.

The Spartans return six starters from last year, but only have three seniors on the roster this season.

“We actually lost one girl (Kalia Lavoie) for just this year because she is in Germany,” said Darrow. “She was our starting centerfielder.”

The Spartans lost only lost two starters to graduation, but Darrow said that they will be tough players to replace.

“Both of our seniors were a big graduation loss,” said Darrow. “One was a starting pitcher (Beth Kadrlik) and the other was a starting catcher (Kristen Coonrod).”

KEY RETURNING PLAYERS

Darrow feels that the team’s returning experience is a key for the team this season.

“Our whole infield is back with the exception of the pitcher ... and two of the three outfielders are back,” said Darrow.

Darrow thinks that the team's battery mates, pitcher Celina Nehmer and catcher Rachel Packer, have a chance to be key players for the Spartans.

“They have been together for a long time as a pitcher-catcher combination,” said Darrow. “They’ve played together since they were little, so they know each other very well. Rachel was not with us last year, but she is back this year as a catcher and she is a very strong player for us behind the plate. She calls a good game and they work very in sync with each other. Celina probably pitched about half the games for us last year, so she has varsity experience. She has pitched a lot at the elite level in the summertime.”

Darrow hopes that their young bats will make up for the graduation losses.

“Our offense is missing some big bats with Beth and Kris from last year, but I’m looking for some of the younger kids to step up after last year being freshman and sophomores,” said Darrow. “We are looking for them to step in and fill those places.”

Darrow feels that a rule change could make the game more hitter-friendly this year

“I think that this year you are going to see more hitting with 43 feet [the distance from the pitching mound to the plate],” said Darrow. “I think that it is going to open the game up offensively for teams. It wouldn’t be such a pitcher-dominated sport. Giving the hitter an extra three feet to see the ball is going to be huge.”

Darrow said that this year’s squad has excellent team chemistry, which could help the team on the field.

Simley finished fifth last season and is hoping to move into the upper division of the Classic Suburban Conference this season. The team needs to work on several things in order to move up in the standings, Darrow said.

“I think just consistency and having a focus on every game and knowing that every game counts,” said Darrow. “I think our conference is pretty well-balanced and anybody can beat anybody on any day.”

CONFERENCE OUTLOOK

The Classic Suburban Conference 2010 champion was North St. Paul, which finished runner-up to Burnsville in Class AAA. The Polars finished 14-0 in conference play, five games ahead of second place Hill-Murray.

Darrow expects those two teams will battle once again for the conference title, driven, in part, by two of the league's top pitchers, Darrow said.

“You definitely have to consider North St. Paul pitcher Carley Pickett,” said Darrow. “I think that she puts a lot of hard work into learning pitching and practices probably more than the average kid.”

Hill-Murray pitcher Teona Zepeda is another standout, Darrow said.

“I think it is the same thing [as Pickett],” said Darrow. “Those girls, they have just perfected their skills and have just become better at it.”

2010 Season Record: 12-10
2010 Conference Record: 6-8 (fifth place in the Classic Suburban Conference)
2010 Section 3AAA Tournament Results: defeated Park of Cottage Grove 3-2, lost to Eagan 7-0.