Bremen sb gets on the board
LAKEVILLE - Every high school softball team loses players to graduation annually. Last spring, every high school softball team lost its season due to Covid, thus those who were seniors then are gone now.
What that means for the Laville High School team is there are only four players on this year’s roster with any varsity experience to speak of.
“We will be a very young team in 2021,” said head coach Scot Shearer, who is assisted by Sky Medors, Cassie Rossman and Dave Herbster. “three-fourths of the infield will be new, while two-thirds of the outfield will be new, but there are capable young ladies waiting to play and gain experience this season.”
the returning letterwinners include seniors Allison Medors (C) and Sydney Coblentz (SS, 2B), along with juniors Ayva Barger (OF) and Abby Goffinet (OF, 1B). Medors, who will play in col
lege at Indiana Wesleyan University, was a Class 2A second team All-state and first team All-hoosier North Athletic Conference selection in 2019. She is a two-time ALL-HNAC catcher and was on the Indianapolis Star’s ‘Players to Watch’ list for this season. Sydney Coblentz was the team’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2019.
Newcomers to watch include junior Kylie Gorka (OF), sophomores Quincy Blodgett (P/IF), Heaylyn Kwiatkowski (OF) and Karisma Lewis (Utility), as well as freshmen Caitlyn Goffinet (Util), Cambree Howe (P/IF), Chloe Herbster (P/IF), and Lily Smith (IF).
Something new for Shearer, who has coached for 34 years, is having not one, but two, foreign exchange students with Louise Grevost and Flavia Natoli from France and Italy, respectively.
“We were hit hard by graduation losses, but will be led by our two seniors,” Shearer added. “We are excited to return to play in 2021 and the coaches look forward to watching how the season progresses. We probably have one of the toughest schedules we’ve had at Laville HS.”
Besides the usual strong competition from the Hoosier North Athletic Conference (Class 2A No. 15 Pioneer is the defending HNAC champ, a state finalist in 2019 and has three players on the Indianapolis Star’s ‘Players to Watch’ list for this season), the schedule also includes non-conference games with Class 3A No. 10 Bremen, several teams from the Northern Indiana Conference (New Prairie is No. 7 Class 3A), Northwood out of the Northern Lakes Conference, and No. 18 (Class 2A) Winamac.
The Lady Lancers will participate in the Tippecanoe Valley Tournament on May 1 and will play host to the annual Queen of Diamonds Softball Tournament at Newton Park on May 15. Laville will compete in the Class 2A Westview Sectional with Central Noble, Fairfield, Laville, Prairie Heights and Westview.