Bronco softball looks to surprise with young players

RITZVILLE -The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague softball team opened practice last week with 22 players aiming to get the Broncos back to the postseason this year.

The Broncos graduated four players last season, including league MVP Lacey Miller, who is playing NCAA softball for Knox College this season.

While 10 girls are playing high school softball for the first time, and over half the squad are freshmen and sophomores, coach Todd O'Brien is feeling pretty good about his team's chances.

O'Brien quickly shook off the idea that the team is in rebuilding mode.

"I don't think so," O'Brien said. "I think we are going to surprise people. Right off the bat, we have some good players. A lot of the new girls coming to us are good athletes. So we are going to turn them into softball players and see what happens."

O'Brien compares this year's team to last year's squad that finished 6-2 in regular-season league play.

"We had lost a lot seniors the year before too and we didn't know what to expect," O'Brien of last year's team. "But we ended up playing on the last day of districts.

That team made the district tournament as the Northeast 2B south division's No. 3 seed. The Broncos lost their first game to Jenkins High (Chewelah) 11-2. They beat Davenport 17-14 in their first consolation-bracket game before losing to Liberty in a loser-out game.

Four days into practice, O'Brien was starting to get a feel for the strength of his team.

"Our anchor is going to be our infield," O'Brien said. "Sadie Miller is an all-league shortstop from last year. We expect good things out of her this year. Kelsey Billigmeier plays second base for us. She started there last year. We are returning Tamera Wolf, our starting first baseman from last year. And Cailey Vallone returns as our pitcher."

Collette Nichols was expected to return at third base, but she will miss the season with an injury. O'Brien says he's looking at options to fill the hole.

O'Brien says his goal is to finish in the top four at the district tournament and advance to state.

The Broncos open the season with a jamboree in Colfax on March 17. There, they will play two-inning games against Colfax, Northwest Christain and Dayton. O'Brien says the team will be tested right off the bat because he feels Northwest Christain and Colfax are the top two teams in the league.

O'Brien hopes to use the jamboree to let his players get their footing and to experiment with his lineup.

"I want Cailey back into the mode of pitching to hitters," O'Brien said. "She's been pitching with a coach and throwing to catchers, but she hasn't been competing against a batter for awhile. I also want to see our batters compete against pitchers."

He also said he plans at playing multiple players at third base to help him decided who is going to start there.

The Broncos start the regular season on March 21 at home against Kettle Falls.