Legend and senior Payton Lincavage had plenty of reason to celebrate last season as the Titans won the school's first state title in any sport. Lincavage is one of the state's top returning players after batting .533 with 7 HRs and 31 RBI in 2017.
File photo by Derek Regensburger
Kristen Shirk understands nothing is going to come easy for the
Legend (Parker) softball program this fall.
As the defending state champions, the Titans enter the 2018 season with a target on their back. It comes with the territory. But while Legend may be new to the realm of defending a state title – last fall's Class 5A softball crown was the first in school history, in any sport – the Titans are more than familiar with facing adversity.
It was last October when the team found itself one defeat from elimination in the 5A Region 2 tournament. The Titans had been upended by Fort Collins in their first game, forcing Legend to win consecutive games to reach the state tournament.
That's exactly what happened, though, and there was no stopping the Titans from there. Down went No. 7 Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village), No. 2 Arvada West and No. 3 Legacy (Broomfield) at Aurora Sports Park, followed by a 9-3 victory against No. 4 Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins) in the championship game.
Shirk said something clicked after the regional loss, and she could see the change in the team's attitude and how they began to believe in each other.
"I think it helped us maybe losing that first game," Shirk said. "But I would rather not lose that first game."
Entering her fourth season as head coach with Legend, Shirk has a team heavy on experience and pitching depth. Legend returns six starters and both of its pitchers from a year ago, and the coach said there is plenty of excitement about what the season holds.
Being the team to beat creates its own challenges, though Shirk stressed that it's a long season. While the goal is to repeat, the coach and her players aren't ready to think about October.
"It's a different kind of feeling to have a target on our backs," she said. "We know it is possible, but when you're picked to win it, it doesn't always happen that way. We have to stay humble and keep our heads about us and play the game the way we know we can."
The Titans move forward without Alyssa Nunn and Hailee Swanson, who hit 10 home runs between them and drove in a combined 50 runs. But among those returning include senior
Payton Lincavage, who hit .553 a year ago with seven home runs and a team-leading 31 RBI.
Zoey LeCompte drove in 28 runs as a junior, and
Olivia Bradley and
Cailey Oldemeyer tied for second on the team with 35 hits each.
"Hopefully we can cover the power we lost in Alyssa and Hailee. It's going to be hard to do, but we have kids who have the talent to cover it," Shirk said. "They're young, so we're getting them reps early on. We like to tell them preseason is preseason – although we like to win, it's OK to fail."
LeCompte and sophomore
Bella Mumford return as a potent 1-2 punch in the pitcher's circle. LeCompte won 12 games as a junior, and Mumford struck out 72 batters in only 59.1 innings pitched.
Shirk said having two pitchers that she can depend on is a huge advantage. The play of the defense will be big behind them, though, and that's an area where the team struggled through much of 2017.The play of the defense turned around in the final six games of the postseason, and Shirk said the focus this fall will be on letting those mistakes go and moving forward.
The nonleague schedule should have the team battle-tested once again headed into Continental League play. Legend endured a five-game skid early in the season a year ago after playing a loaded schedule, and the Titans face a similar stretch this month.
Legend opens with Eaglecrest (Aurora) – the top seed in the 2017 state tournament – on Aug. 14 and has 11 games in the first 18 days of the season.
"My goal every year is to create the hardest schedule possible. It helped us out last year playing top-10 teams in non-conference," Shirk said. "To be the best you have to play the best. What I care about before the state tournament starts is conference. I want us by September to be prepared so we can win conference."
With the 2018 season getting underway today, here is a brief overview for all three classifications heading into the fall campaign:
Class 5A
Defending state champion: Legend
State tournament: Oct. 19-20 at Aurora Sports Park
Overview: The classification got that much tougher with the addition of
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch), which moves up from 4A. The Eagles won state titles from 2014-16 and join a Jeffco League that had three teams reach the state quarterfinals last fall. Valor was young offensively a year ago, but graduated Colorado's Gatorade Player of the Year in pitcher Ali Kilponen. … A
Fossil Ridge squad that won 22 games and averaged 11.8 runs on its way to the title game returns its heavy hitters.
Kate Delaney,
Mia Moddelmog and
Kristen Reed combined to belt 17 home runs and drive in 121 runs between them.
Jayden Mercado batted .587 as a sophomore and scored 43 runs. …
Eaglecrest dropped only one game during the regular season before falling to Fossil Ridge in the semifinals. The Raptors graduated reigning Player of the Year Kailey Wilson, who hit .738 with 12 home runs, among eight seniors. Rachel Sabourin batted .506 with 20 extra-base hits and scored a team-high 44 runs as a junior. …
Legacy graduated two of its top hitters in Trisha Cook and Ciarra Nelson off a team that went to the semifinals. But the Lightning was young last fall, and Hannah Farley was 15-4 with 114 strikeouts in 104 innings pitched as a sophomore. …
Brighton had a young pitching staff as well, with Halie Litwin going 12-2 as a junior with a 2.05 ERA. Tori Haug allowed only four earned runs in 51 innings pitched as a sophomore.
Class 4A
Defending state champion: Mountain View (Loveland)
Kat Sackett, Erie
File photo by Derek Regensburger
Oct. 19-20 at Aurora Sports Park
Overview: Mountain View entered the state tournament as the No. 11 seed after a regional loss, but the Mountain Lions powered through the bracket on their way to a state championship. The team graduated a pair of all-state players in Kaley Barker and Izzy Griego, but Bailey Carlson was a first-team selection as a freshman. Carlson was 16-3 with a 1.89 ERA and 68 strikeouts. …
Pueblo Central won a pair of one-run games to reach the title game. The Wildcats graduated ace Taylor Puga, but
Thalia Amaro and
Breanna Baca were impressive as sophomores. …
Erie endured a four-game losing streak in nonleague play before bouncing back to make the state tournament.
Kat Sackett batted .603 as a sophomore and led the team in hits, RBI and runs scored.
Megan Loveland won 11 games as a sophomore. …
Silver Creek (Longmont) played the role of the biggest spoiler in the tournament, ending Valor's perfect season in the quarterfinals with a 5-1 victory. Jetta Nannen hit 10 home runs and drove in 41 runs as a junior, and Kayla Harper led the team with a .612 average. …
Golden, which finished second to Valor in the Jeffco League, was the No. 2 before being upset by
Elizabeth in the first round at state. Sophomores Makayla and Makenzie Middleton were dominant at the plate, with Makenzie belting 12 home runs. Cassidy Paulson was 14-1 as a junior.
Class 3A
Defending state champion: Strasburg
Remington Ross, Eaton
File photo by Jeffrey Tucker
Oct. 19-20 at Aurora Sports Park
Overview: Strasburg reclaimed the top spot in 3A, winning its fourth championship in six years. The Indians graduated Player of the Year Dakota Stotyn, but Alexis Rayburn was 10-0 with a 1.04 ERA as a junior and struck out 111 batters in 67 innings pitched. The team was also sophomore-heavy, meaning the offense returns the bulk of its starting lineup. …
Brush had a dominant run at state before falling to Strasburg in the title game. Kamryn Leoffler batted .541 as a junior with 43 runs scored and 24 stolen bases. The Beetdiggers did graduate staff ace Hailey Unrein. …
Eaton dropped a one-run game to Strasburg in the semifinals. The Reds return one of the state's top hitters in junior
Remington Ross, who batted .595 with 50 hits, 42 runs scored and 44 stolen bases.
Lauren Frink was 12-2 with a 1.90 ERA and 86 strikeouts as a junior. …
Faith Christian (Arvada) was the other semifinalist, falling to Brush. The Eagles had three juniors receive first-team or second-team all-state honors in Hampton Hays, McKenzie Connor and Abrianah McGaw.
