WESTHAMPTON — The defending Division 2 state champions picked up where they left off.
That’s easy for Hampshire Regional softball to do returning 13 players and seven starters.
The Raiders spent their first day of practice in the gym before heading down the hill to their field to begin preparations to try and repeat.
“We definitely have a target on our back knowing we were state champions last year,” Hampshire senior Chelsea Moussette said. “We can’t dwell on what we did last year. We have to come back and want it just as much.”
Motivation shouldn’t be a problem.
Hampshire coach Brian McGan likes to open each year with the same set of goals regardless of the previous season’s success.
First is qualify for the tournament, then win the league, win Western Massachusetts and win a state championship.
“I think it’s important for kids to strive for something instead of just going up there and hoping for the best,” McGan said. “Since day one, strive for that. Last year, it happened. This year, we don’t know. It’s always in the back of their heads that this is where we’ve been. We’re trying to get back there again.”
The Raiders know the path. It starts with pitching and continues with defense.
“Year after year we try to be pitching and defense,” McGan said. “To be competitive you have to be good on the mound and good in the field.”
Senior Alexis Ferris is good on the mound.
She won 18 games last season and struck out 209 batters in 145 innings.
“We rely on her a lot, and she gets the job done more than half the time,” Moussette said.
Lily West makes up the other half of Hampshire’s all-senior battery. She caught Ferris last year, and the pair worked out in the summer, too.
“We work really well together,” West said. “We have a pretty strong connection.”
Moussette patrols the space just to the right of Ferris in West’s vision from behind home plate.
She’ll start at second base for the sixth year under McGan.
“Chelsea has been with me since Day 1,” McGan said. “She’s pretty much our leader this year.”
Moussette will occupy a leadership role largely filled by shortstop Savannah Waters last season.
She graduated along with first baseman Melissa McCarthy and designated player Lilly Rubeck.
“To try to fill those roles of veteran players with new kids coming in, you’ve got to be a little more optimistic,” McGan said. “You can’t expect what you expected from those kids. That’s why everything starts over again.”
But the Raiders don’t have to start at the very beginning. They’ve been around the program for years and know how McGan operates.
“These kids have been all in this program since JV and varsity but been on varsity for at least two years, so they understand what we expect as coaches, and they’re doing that now,” McGan said. “We’re not teaching them from A to B, we’re teaching them from C and on.”
Hampshire starts to work on hitting around step D or so.
The Raiders shook off the rust in their first practice outside but were too far ahead of the ball at first.
McGan turned the team’s focus to hitting the ball the other way for a stretch.
Hampshire will have to make up for the offense it lost as a collective because no individual player will replace the production McCarthy, Waters and Rubeck brought.
“This year it’s more balanced. Last year we kind of relied on Savannah Waters,” Moussette said. “This year it’ll be balanced because we’re all a year older, so we’re all going to be better at hitting.”
The Raiders will still focus on run prevention, though.
Having won three out of the last four sectional championships, they know titles are won 2-1.
“We score enough,” McGan said.
Enough to lift a few trophies, perhaps.
Amherst Regional
COACH: Brittni Upchurch, first year
LEAGUE: Valley League
LAST YEARS RECORD: 7-13
LAST TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2014, lost 7-6 to Minnechaug in WMass Division 1 quarterfinals
RETURNING STARTERS: Seniors — Aliya Bartmon, P; Jada Glasgow, IF; Anjali Tyner, OF; Juniors — Mikah McNamara, IF; Megan Rice, IF/OF;
RETURNING PLAYERS: Senior — Frances Brown, OF; Juniors — Rafaella Fabrzi, IF/OF; Egeria Koehn-Cooper, IF; Sonia Posner, IF; Kaitlyn Vachula, U; Sophomores — Adele Cousland, P; Emily Hu, C; Jahfreeya Peters, U;
NEWCOMERS: Sophomore — Gabrielle Davis, U; Freshmen — Catherine Brown, U; Nathalie Dougan, U; Jennifer Hodgkins, U;
OUTLOOK: The Hurricanes’ coach may be new, but the majority of the players are experienced. Upchurch takes over for Kacey Schmitt, who retired after 17 years and three sectional titles. Bartmon is back to pitch, and Glasgow hit .370 last season. It remains to be seen if Amherst’s other returners can step into larger roles and get back to the postseason.