Ready to roll
St. Charles softball looks to succeed in 2018
Heading into today’s season opener at Chopticon High School, the players and coaches of the St. Charles High School softball team admitted they were approaching the upcoming slate with considerable optimism despite losing two key members of last year’s squad to relocation.
St. Charles first-year head coach Khourtni Hester, seniors Janae Lyles and Nyla Jones and sophomore Ryanne Saluter acknowledged the premature departure of pitcher Cassidy Clark and second baseman Lexi Clark, who moved to Florida, would certainly impact their season. But the Spartans quartet also realized they still have ample reason to expect plenty of success in 2018.
“Not having Cassie and Lexi was definitely not in the plans,” said Hester, an assistant last season to Chip Saluter, who is now her assistant this spring. “Cassie really pitched well for us last season and it would have been great to have her back. But these girls have been working hard and they still expect to have a winning record.”
Lyles, the Spartans catcher and cleanup hitter, has already committed to Hampton University for softball and admitted she would like to leave a lasting impression at every high school where she plays this spring.
“I want to hit one out at every field,” said Lyles, who actually sent a Hester pitch over the fence in left-center field during their extended batting practice on Friday. “I’ve always been known for my hitting, so I want to leave my mark at every field. I always want to improve on my hitting and my defense and get better at framing pitches.”
Lyles had grown accustomed to having Clark in the circle the last two seasons, but this year the Spartans will send out freshman Alyssa Hill to the rubber. Hester has confidence in the youthful hurler and noted that having Lyles behind the plate, Ryanne Saluter at shortstop and Jones in center field will give Hill solid defensive support.
“I like what I’ve seen from Alyssa,” Hester said. “I think she’s going to do well and having Janae behind the plate is
going to help her a lot. I think Janae only had one passed ball all of last season. Defensively with Ryanne at shortstop and Myla in center, we’ve got good support behind her. Ryanne and Janae also really work well together on throw downs. They have
really good chemistry.”
Jones, who is headed to North Carolina A&T for softball, is also in line to be the school’s senior class salutatorian and she has also been a four-year member of the cheerleading squad. Her speed and quickness are immediately noticeable at the plate, on the bases and in center field.
“I’ve been working a lot
on my slaps and bunts,” said Jones, who took an extra session with Hester at the end of practice. “I always look for something low that I can beat right into the ground. On defense, I try to get to every fly ball. I don’t like to see anything land in front of me.”
Ryanne Saluter, who will also play a key role for the Spartans this spring at the plate and in the field at shortstop, appeared optimistic the squad can overcome the loss of the Clark sisters and make a bid for the Potomac Division crown.
“Personally, I want to get better every day at everything,” Saluter said. “I always work on my hitting and I listen to my coaches. Defensively, I work on getting to more ground balls and covering the bag on throw downs from Janae. Our goal is to have a winning record again and see how we can do in SMAC and regionals.”
Jones, Lyles and Saluter all admitted to having friends on several of the teams in SMAC and one of those squads is high on the list of teams all three would like to overtake this spring.
“North Point,” Jones said when asked about the game she has circled on the calendar. “They beat us last year in a close game and that kept us from going to the SMAC championship. I know some of the girls on that team, so North Point is the team I want to really beat this year.”