Everything points to a case of the same story, different year for the Mingus Union High School softball team, but this time it hopes for a different ending.
Last year the team narrowly missed out on the region championship by giving up a key comeback loss, 10-9, to Coconino High School near the end, and losing to Prescott High School early in the season.
The Marauders lost a handful of starters from last season, but returns a lineup that provides enough offensive firepower and defensive stability to make another run.
“We want to win the region, hands down,” head coach John Brown said. “It looks consistent, I think we’re going to have two or three different teams who will give us a challenge just like last year. We have to play well … [last year] we lost and that cost us our championship. This year we’ve just got to be consistent.”
Much of the formula for this year’s team is the same as last year’s: Aggressive baserunning and strong hitting. In a scrimmage against Joy Christian School on Feb. 14, senior Nikki Zielinski played shortstop and was the leadoff batter after Maddie Bejarano, last year’s region offensive player of the year as a sophomore, decided to do online school and play club ball this year.
The players who departed in 2017: Morgan Mabery, Krista Earl, Maliah Zillmer, Anissa Zorillo and Bejarano combined for 91 RBI and 97 runs. On the flip side, the six returners who had at least 50 at bats a year ago totaled 111 RBI and 115 runs. Leading that group is Zielinski, a 2017 First Team All-Grand Canyon Region selection who had 45 runs scored and 46 RBI on 53 hits [26 for extra bases] and 10 home runs with a .525 batting average.
“I think aggressive offense, we hit the ball well, we run the bases really well, we’re very aggressive, so I look to score a lot of runs,” Brown said. “Really we’re pretty solid on defense, but we can continue to work on our batting always, so I think that’s going to be our focus this year.
“I think we can work on our short game, our small ball we can play a little better. A lot of girls want to swing a long bat — they want to hit the ball out of the park — so we’re trying to curb that a little bit.”
Senior Kaycee Williams, a 2017 Second Team All-Grand Canyon Region pitcher, returns as the team’s No. 1 in the circle. Williams is the second-leading bat returning to the lineup, recording a .381 average, 22 runs scored and 30 RBI on 37 hits. Sophomore Makayla Brogdon, sophomore Jordyn Cromer and freshman Chloe Shults will round out a larger pitching rotation.
“Every year teams lose their seniors like we did, but it’ll be a good year,” Zielinski said. “We definitely have depth on our team, so if something’s not working we can definitely make adjustments, but I feel like we’re a pretty solid team all the way around.”
Helping lead the way are three other seniors along with the aforementioned Zielinski and Williams: Outfielders Bailey Brown, Sonya Saucedo and Mattie Bollen.
“It’s definitely our last season, so we want to make the best. I think we try and be leaders on and off the field for the younger girls,” Zielinski said.
The team opens the season with a 3:45 p.m. game on Thursday, Feb. 22, at home against Combs High School. It then dives into region play with a home-and-home series against Prescott; the first is at 3:45 p.m. March 6 at home, and the second is at 4 p.m. March 8 on the road.
