Ready for another step

The person standing in the third base coaching box will be different. But the philosophy will be the same.

The Jay County High School softball team wants to continue to improve and increase its win total for the fourth straight season. And it hopes to bring home its first sectional title.

Doug Arbuckle will take over the helm this season, making the walk from the first base side of the infield to the third base side after serving as Jack Wood's assistant coach for the last five seasons.

He'll have three seniors to help lead the team in shortstop Brittany Mann, second baseman Jess Piercey and pitcher/left fielder Tiffany Davis.

"They've shown great leadership, as we expect of them," said Arbuckle. "And also we've got several other returning letter winners. It's not a brand-new team by any means. I just feel like we're gelling together.

"I think we'll be solid, one through nine. ... We lost some key ingredients, but I feel like the younger girls can step in ... I really at this point feel like there won't be a weak spot in our line-up."

The Patriots lost three players - Trisha Champ, Lindsey Wellman and Shelby Gierhart - who hit better than .300 last season. But they return six more.

Davis is the top returning player in almost every offensive category. She hit .378 last season with 34 hits, 30 runs, 24 RBIs, nine walks and eight doubles. And her six steals are second among returning players only behind Kayla Phillips's seven.

Piercey hit .346 last season with 14 runs. Mann, who moves to shortstop from the outfield, missed much of the 2008 season with an injury but hit .389 in limited at bats.

The other players back after hitting .330 or better last season are Phillips (.361 avg., 26 hits, 19 runs, 15 RBIs), Pazia Speed (.333, 24 hits, 16 runs, 13 RBIs, six steals) and Selena McKibben (.400).

"I think our hitting will be fine," said Arbuckle. "The girls are really seeing the ball right now.

"We don't have quite as much speed as we've had in the past. But we're going to try some things to get the girls moving and score some runs. We're not relying on just hitting."

McKibben is the likely starter at third base, with Brittany Watson on the opposite corner. Speed returns to center field, and a host of players - Phillips, Nikka Chaney, Laura Castillo, Kendra Younger and Caitlin Gilbert - will also see time in the lineup.

"I feel like that's a strong point for this team right now," said Arbuckle, "that we've got five or six girls that we can interchange ... depending on what lineup we want to go with."

Danielle Wellman, a freshman, will step into the catcher's role. She takes over for four-year starter Champ, the team's top offensive player with a .419 average, 36 hits, 36 runs, 18 stolen bases, 17 RBIs and 13 walks in her senior season.

Davis and Watson will share the pitching duties to start the year. Both were behind No. 1 starter Amber Edmundson, who is now playing at Ancilla College, last season.

"They are going to start out sharing most of the load," said Arbuckle, who also has McKibben and Chaney in his group of pitchers. "I feel like the key for us to be as successful as we want to be is pitching and defense. We can't be walking batters and we can't give them extra outs."

The Patriots have seen consistent improvement over the last several seasons. After back-to-back nine-win seasons in 2004 and 2005, they reached the .500 mark at 13-13 in 2006, set a school record for wins at 16-10 in 2007 and broke that record again with a 17-10 mark last year.

Arbuckle said he'd like to see that record move up to 20 wins this season. And he believes Jay County, which lost last season's sectional championship game 2-1 to Homestead (26-2-2) in nine innings, is ready to bring home its first title.

"Last year when we moved up to the Class 4A sectional we were a little apprehensive," he said. "Towards the end I really felt like we came together. ... We showed that we belong there.

"Even though it was a heart-breaking loss, I feel like the girls are going to take something (positive) from that. ... (Winning sectional) is something they can accomplish."[[In-content Ad]]