Eight starters return for No. 1 Woodinville, but Skyline, Puyallup, Snohomish and Meadowdale are also deep with talent in the Washington softball #MaxPrepsFab5.
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MaxPreps 2017 Washington preseason softball Fab 5 presented by the Army National Guard
1. Woodinville2016 record: 21-5
Head coach: Dani Weir
Every starter but one returns from the Falcons' 4A runner-up team that won 21 of 26 games (three losses were by one run). Top returners include
Lauryn Rhinehart (Fairfield University signee),
Olivia Riener (Bowling Green signee),
Jordyn Boyd (Manhattanville signee).
Skylar Hein (St. Louis pledge) and
Paige Grover (Lafayette College pledge). All were All-League, as were teammates
Taylor Rhinehart (Amherst signee) and
Megan Taketa. Riener had a 2.74 ERA last season, and hit .378 with eight homers and 27 RBIs in just 74 at-bats.
Lauryn Rhinehart, Woodinville
Photo by John Godek
19-7
Head coach: Lindsay Sullivan
The Spartans lost just one senior starter from last year and return six all-King County League honorees in
Molly Spaniac (Claremont Mudd signee),
Lauren Lo (Western Washington signee),
Cara Harnick,
Shayna Swanson and
Maddie Peters. San Jose State signee
Caroline Bowman is back in the circle where she averaged 1.5 strikeouts per inning. Also back are
Taylor Juenke and
Camille Goo. Newcomers
Emma Jacobs and
Summer Jones are expected to make immediate impacts. Asked what concerns she had about her 2017 team, coach Sullivan said, "nothing."
See the MaxPreps Washington softball stat leaderboards3. Puyallup2016 Record: 28-3
Head coach: Tony Bationovich
Eleven players return from the 2016 team that won its first 28 games before closing out the season with a trio of losses.
Kennedy Robillard (league pitcher of the year) heads the list along with returning all-league teammates catcher
Maddy Besaw (Stony Brook signee), and infielders
Sophia Bjerk (San Diego signee) and
Natalie Joyner. And all-league honorable mention freshman
Sidney Booth and
Autumn Harris also return.
See the MaxPreps Washington softball photos4. Snohomish2016 Record: 22-3, 4A state champions
Head coach: Louis Kennedy
Snohomish lost its top pitcher, but if junior
Bailey Greenlee's brief performance was any indication, the Panthers could be poised for back-to-back state 4A titles. In just 25 innings, Greenlee struck out 44 batters and went 3-0.
Whoever is in the circle for Snohomish will receive plenty of run support. Only one starter graduated from a team that hit .385 in 2016. Key returnees are
Sami Reynolds (.462), Bellevue signee
Natalie Campbell (.379),
Joy Winston (.370) and
Ruby Sugayan (.388). And Greenlee batted .500 in 48 at bats.
See the MaxPreps Washington softball playoff brackets5. Meadowdale (Lynnwood)2016 Team Record: 27-3, 3A state champions
Head coach: Dennis Hopkins
For the Mavericks, it all starts with one of the state's top pitcher-catcher duo in
Lauren Dent and MaxPreps All-American
Emma Helm (Washington signee). During their seven-game playoff run, Dent allowed five runs and pitched four shutouts. And Helm batted .605 with 14 home runs, 63 RBI, 13 doubles and 49 runs scored.
But there's a lot more than Dent and Helm returning with all-district choice
Lauren Wallace and five others back from the gold trophy season.
