Amidst a slight drizzle and a cloudy sky, the Frontier Regional softball team got some work in on Zabek Field on Friday afternoon.
The hoodies were out in full force.
Gary Deane enters his ninth season with the Redhawks. Frontier went 14-9 least season and made it to the MIAA Division 4 state tournament Round of 8.
“We graduated four seniors,” Deane said. “Two of them were five-year varsity players, two were four-year varsity players. We graduated a lot of knowledge, institutional knowledge, experience. I never think of it as a rebuilding year. We are going to fill the holes as best we can.”
The Redhawks return a couple of star players from last year’s squad in Skyler Steele and Raine Wonsey. Steele is the starting shortstop who batted .479 with 10 homers and 33 RBI last season. The junior is putting up monster numbers during her career with the Redhawks.
Even with the loss of some productive players, the Redhawks have more than enough players to make a run at a Franklin East title. Pitching can erase a lot of imperfections, and Frontier has one of the better pitchers in the league.
“I think we are going to be pretty good this year,” Steele said. “We lost four seniors so that will be a little different. But we have Raine on the mound, she’s been doing really well the past couple years. We got a bunch of good girls that just came up so that’s going to be exciting.”
Wonsey enters her freshman season with 205 career strikeouts. The power pitcher can mash at the plate as well for the Redhawks. She hit .469 last season with three homers. In her eighth-grade season, Wonsey struck out 146 hitters.
“The biggest factor of my success is my teammates,” Wonsey said. “Being surrounded by older girls is very different. Especially coming in as a seventh grader. I didn’t really know what to expect. But having this group of girls around me, it makes me comfortable.
When Wonsey is throwing for speed and hitting her spots, she will be tough to hit this season. She spent an offseason working out to get better at the plate and in the circle.
“I was trying to improve my hitting approach,” Wonsey said. “Being more aggressive for myself. As far as pitching goes, just staying calm and composed.”
Steele just finished a strong season with the Frontier basketball team. Behind the scenes she hasn’t strayed too far away from her favorite sport.
“It’s a fun game,” Steele said. “Not to say the other sports that I play aren’t, but you just really have to work as a team. You got to have fun. There’s a lot of fast paced moments in the other sports. Here you can take a second. We have fun at practice and at games but sometimes it’s time to lock in. That’s what I love about it.”
Haly Doucette-Kaplan joins the team as a transfer from Northampton. She will play second base for the Redhawks. Whitney Campbell is the only senior on the team and is slated to play either second base or the outfield.
Adelaide Ehle should see time in the outfield and catcher. Isabella Orrell and Olivia Peabody will compete for outfield positions. With a dominant pitcher like Wonsey, the expectations remain high for the Redhawks.
“We will be right back there,” Steele said. “We are going to be pretty good. We have some good offense and some good defense. Really good defense. I can’t wait to see that.”
Frontier jumps into their season with a road game against Turners Falls on March 27 at 5:30.