5 storylines for the Licking County softball season
The Ohio High School Athletic Association softball season began Saturday. Here are five stories we will be following in Licking County this season.
Watkins Memorial wants to win final game
Watkins Memorial has reached the Division I state tournament the last three years by winning three consecutive regional championships. But the Warriors are still aiming to be the last team standing after falling in the final in 2021 and the semifinals each of the last two seasons.
The senior battery of pitcher Carsyn Cassady and catcher Jordyn Wycuff arguably is the best in the state. The Warriors will also have a powerful lineup with seniors Cortney Dobbs and Ava McKee and junior Maleya Thompson.
Newark Catholic shooting for stars
Last year, Newark Catholic won its second Division IV district title in three seasons, having reached the state tournament in 2021. Now, the Green Wave have the talent to make another run under new coach Logan DePriest.
Seniors Kami Diaz, Kylie Gibson, Maris Knowlton and Avery Nagel headline a lineup that can put runs on the board in bunches. Nagel and sophomore Veronica Bailey are a solid one-two punch in the circle.
Johnstown, Newark attempting to reload
Johnstown lost a lot to graduation, but do not sleep on the Johnnies, who in 2023 won their second Division III regional championship in three seasons.
Senior Ava Peterman and junior Peyton Mischel have been waiting for their opportunity to pitch regularly at the varsity level. Sophomores Aubrey Del Cecato and Addy Zak lead a lineup that will feature plenty of speed and sneaky power potential.
Newark graduated its core from the program’s first Division I district champion in three decades. Sophomore Mallory Back is the headliner in the 2024 lineup.
Perennial powers jockeying for position
Granville, Lakewood and Licking Valley all have raised state championship trophies since 2013, and that trio is on the verge of breaking back into the elite in Division II.
Granville features the big bats of seniors Taylor Warehime and Emily Travis and junior Megan Lodge and right arm of senior Ally Ernsberger. Lakewood is led by seniors Dani Stewart and Becca Streets both at the plate and in the circle, and the right-left pitching duo of senior Abbe McNabb and junior Rylee Pitt for the Panthers support an offense filled with potential.
Next in line in LCL
The Licking County League is deep from top to bottom, and several teams could make noise both in the division races and district tournament.
Licking Heights in Division I has been knocking on the door and returns a lineup powered by senior Evie Hays and juniors Ali West, Savanna Christ and Lily Meidl.
Heath in Division II is just a year removed from a trip to the state tournament and features explosive juniors Kyndall Spicer, Sydney Cottrell and Shelby Moore to wreak havoc on opposing pitchers.
Utica with Lexi Wiegand and Northridge with Kenzie Hannahs are each led by senior shortstops and have enough depth in the lineup, including sophomore Emily Meyers for Utica and junior Kaitlyn Angus for Northridge, to ruin an opponent’s day in Division III.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: 5 storylines for the Licking County softball season
