Fast, Hard-Hitting Lady Bulldogs Return

The Times

DAYTON - The 2013 high school softball season might turn out to be a bit of déjà vu for the Lady Bull­dogs and their fans. Many of the same players who proudly took the team's scrappy record- setting game to state in Yakima last year are back, head coach Terry Robbins said.

"We have a very good nucleus to build around," he said. "My seniors are my leaders."

The 2012 Lady Bulldogs broke almost every record in the school's sports his­tory books: the most runs, at 235; the most doubles, at 41; the most RBIs, at 181; the most hits on a fast pitch, at 237; and the second most stolen bases, at 103 (the 2005 team beat them with 131).

And in large part, it was all thanks to a returning core of then-juniors and one sophomore who were start­ers in last year's memorable season: Sam Harting, pitch­er; McKayla Bickelhaupt, catcher; Jessica Tate, short stop; Malia Frame, sec­ond base; and now-junior Sarah Phillips, right fielder, back-up catcher and hitter extraordinaire.

The ones missing from this year's lineup are then- seniors Shelby Smith, Ni­cole Lambert and Darci Hall. But there's one more prospective ace coming off the sideline. After be­ing benched for a year in several sports due to a long- lasting meniscus injury, junior Courtney Mings re­joins the team as a possible first baseman or outfielder this year.

Robbins describes the team as fast and expert at bunting, "two keys to our success" in 2012, as he put it. "We have a lot of speed."

Add to that the seniors' fast-pitch hitting experi­ence and the heat coming off Phillips' left-handed bat and the Lady Bulldogs can boast an offense that has other teams in the league, such as rivals WP, Asotin and DeSales, on notice.

The defense is another story this year, Robbins said. With Smith's solid performance on first base now in the history books, the team still has to settle on the best replacement in that key position. Mings looks promising, but her knee still bothers her occasionally, the coach said.

With 18 players on the team, the bench has about the same number of athletes and as much depth as last year. Like 2012, Lexis Ward will be first backup pitch­er, followed by Phillips, Bickelhaupt and Savanah McFarland. Phillips will stand by as the number two catcher, followed by Tate, Taylor Frame and possibly a fourth player.

"They'll all get some time at those positions," said Robbins, who prefers to relieve Harting from time to time, particularly in double headers.

At least half of the play­ers are returning veter­ans, assistant coach Des Jones said. New on the team are three freshmen and three eighth graders, whose young blood will add speed for base running and steals, Robbins predicted.

And as far as getting the fresh faces ready for action, the head coach, now in his 11th year in charge of the team, said he relies on his seniors to show them his "philosophy" on batting and throwing fundamentals.

"The older girls bring the younger kids along," he said. "I may be the coach, but they are the mentors."