MP softball looks for new players to step up in 2020

MT. PLEASANT - In 2019, the Mt. Pleasant softball team was right in the thick of the conference race all season long. If they want to compete again in 2020, the Panthers will need to see a few fresh faces step up.

The Panthers finished the 2019 season 23-13 overall and 12-4 in conference play. They lost out to Fairfield by one game in the Southeast Conference standings, and were knocked out by the Trojans in the postseason.

The Mt. Pleasant squad lost much of its core from last eyar. The Panthers graduated four players from their starting lineup, and will only bring back four players who started over 30 games in the 2019 campaign.

Among those returners is returning player of the year Sydni Coleman. Coleman was a dominant pitcher last season, going 16-7 with a 2.51 ERA and 62 strikeouts. Returning with her in the circle is Hannah Newman, who finished the season with a 4.20 ERA and seven strikeouts in 2019.

The Panther battery will be one of the best in the SEC. Catcher Samantha Broeker enters her senior year after hitting .400 last season, socking two home runs, 11 doubles, one triple, and 40 RBIs. Coleman often helped herself at the plate, hitting .358 with one home run, nine doubles, four triples and 30 RBIs as a junior.

'I think our battery is a strength this year, as well as team unity,” says head coach Troy Meras. 'All the girls get along great and support each other.”

Newman and Savana Walls will both return to the lineup after starting over 30 games last season. Newman hit .243 with two doubles and 11 RBIs, and Walls hit .275 with one double and 12 RBIs.

The Mt. Pleasant girls will look to get a boost from key bench players from last, including Lexie Magnani, who hit .263 last year in 26 games. Mt. Pleasant will mix in experience and youth, even having two eighth-graders, Kylee Roen and Emma Starr, step into varsity roles in their first years of eligibility.

The Mt. Pleasant girls will have a tough road if they want to stay in the conference race. Both Fairfield and Washington came into the 2020 season ranked in the top 15, and Burlington has a solid softball program, that looks to be a serious threat to take the crown.