Sports
Trojans Have Horses to be Competitive in Softball
Returning trio, led by all-league pitcher Sammy Schilling, combines with three ready-for-prime-time freshmen to give Terra Linda much higher hopes in 2011.
softball coach Brad Lucchi realizes his team, which won just one league game last season, probably won’t be in the running for the Marin County Athletic League title this year.
But he’d nonetheless like the top teams to have to take the Trojans seriously in 2011.
“Traditionally we’ve been the doormats,” noted Lucchi, who is in his third year coaching the Trojans. “Our goal is to be close late in the games. That hasn’t been the case before. We hope we can stick around longer with those teams and make a name for ourselves.”
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Terra Linda hasn’t made the MCAL playoffs since 2004. If that changes this season, chances are there’ll be three big reasons: senior , sophomore Alyssa Ross and junior .
Schilling was an All-MCAL first-team pitcher last season when she recorded an overall 1.63 earned-run average and struck out 173 in 133 innings. She also batted .397.
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Her batterymate, Ross, is the team’s top hitter and was, in Coach Lucchi’s mind, a candidate for MCAL Player of the Year honors in 2010. She nearly won the league’s Triple Crown last season, hitting .408 in league play while leading the MCAL in home runs (four) and RBIs (18).
Her numbers were even more impressive when you consider all games -- .485 average with four homers, nine doubles and 23 RBIs in 23 games.
Lucchi, an Honorable Mention all-leaguer in 2010, plays shortstop and adds speed to the lineup. She stole 12 bases last season.
“Those three players,” Coach Lucchi boasted, “give us a chance.”
But there’s a lot more to this Terra Linda team, thanks in large part to an excellent crop of freshmen. That group is led by Macauley Prickett and Mikayla Jones.
Even before she plays her first MCAL game, Coach Lucchi calls Prickett “the best center fielder in the league right now.” One of the fastest players in the league, according to Coach Lucchi, she will bat leadoff.
Jones arguably will fill an even more critical role in the Terra Linda offense. The third baseman will bat behind Ross.
“We were pretty much done after Ross hit last year,” Coach Lucchi noted. “That’s not the case this year. She (Jones) will provide a presence for us in the on-deck circle when Alyssa Ross is hitting.”
Another freshman, Cheyenne Cooper, will be the starting second baseman, prompting Coach Lucchi to claim, “We immediately got stronger when this year’s freshman class arrived.”
One other key returning player is Sammie Burnash, a sophomore outfielder who is being counted upon to add even more pop to the offense.
TERRA LINDA’S 2011 SOFTBALL SCHEDULE
Home team in CAPS
Terra Linda 8, Branson 0
March 10, at Drake, 4 p.m.
March 14, at Novato, 4:30 p.m.
March 17, REDWOOD, 4:30 p.m.
March 19, EL MOLINO, 11 a.m.
March 21, SONOMA VALLEY, 4:30 p.m.
March 22, JUSTIN-SIENA, 4:30 p.m.
March 23, vs. Marin Academy at Albert Park, 4 p.m.
March 24, at Tam,, 4:30 p.m.
March 28, MARIN CATHOLIC, 4:30 p.m.
March 31, SAN RAFAEL, 4:30 p.m.
April 4, at San Marin, 6:30 p.m.
April 7, BRANSON, 4:30 p.m.
April 18, DRAKE, 4:30 p.m.
April 21, NOVATO, 4:30 p.m.
April 25, at Redwood, 4:30 p.m.
April 27, at Santa Rosa, 4:30 p.m.
April 29, at Justin-Siena, 4:30 p.m.
April 30, BISHOP O'DOWD, 11 a.m.
May 2, TAM, 4:30 p.m.
May 5, at Marin Catholic, 4:30 p.m.
May 9, at San Rafael, 4:30 p.m.
May 12, SAN MARIN, 4:30 p.m.
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