Last season, everything seemed to fall into place for Sherwood's softball team.
The Bowmen finished 29-3, setting a school record for wins, and capped it off by beating North Medford 10-6 in the 6A final for their first state championship.
With six starters from the championship lineup returning, a repeat is well within reach for Sherwood, which is No. 1 in the OSAAtoday 6A preseason coaches poll. But second-year coach Kris Moore knows that staying motivated is essential to the team's success.
“How do you keep the fire lit?” Moore said. “Once the first game happens, the state championship doesn't mean anything. It's all up for grabs again. I think the selfless playing for each other, that's the motivation to keep the fire there.”
With a title under their belts, the Bowmen are looking at the big picture.
“I certainly don't expect to have the same record as last year,” Moore said. “I don't expect to win every game. All that matters to me is we try to win the last five games of the season. Those are the ones that matter. I'm not putting pressure on these girls to be perfect every game.”
Much of the team's fate will rest on the right arm of sophomore pitcher Presley Sarono-Ramos. a 6A first-team selection last season. In 110 2/3 innings, she allowed 39 hits, struck out 177, walked 45 and posted a 1.10 ERA while sharing time in the circle with Destiny Cornwell. With Cornwell now at playing in college at Linfield. Sarono-Ramos is the team's primary pitcher.
Sarono-Ramos spent the offseason refining her form, expanding her arsenal of pitches and increasing her endurance. She has added a change-up to complement her fastball, which touches in the mid-60s mph.
“That really opens up her fastball,” Moore said. “She's working on her rise, throwing that more consistently for a strike.
“I think she's going to have a great year. She knows she's going to have to pitch more innings than she did last year, and she's ready for it. She's a bulldog. She wants the ball in her hands.”
The top three in last year's batting order are back in senior shortstop Daisha Cornwell (.463, 25 RBIs, 15 stolen bases), senior right fielder Maisy Schindler (.400, nine home runs, 31 RBIs, 17 stolen bases) and senior outfielder Jordyn Henderson (.357, four home runs, 26 RBIs).
Sherwood graduated its cleanup hitter in catcher McKenna Parmalee, also playing at Linfield. Sarono-Ramos, who hit .413 with seven home runs and 38 RBIs last year, is a candidate to fill that spot. Two other returning starters – sophomore infielder Berklee Henning (.458) and senior infielder Hollie Maughan (.306, 19 RBIs) – are proven bats.
Moore said it won't be difficult filling any holes in the lineup with a deep roster of 22 players.
“Every single one of those girls could start,” he said. “They all have that level of talent. It's a pretty exciting time to coach. The 20th girl on my team can hit home runs.”
The defense is likely to need some time to gel with the graduation of Parmalee, Destiny Cornwell and center fielder Camryn Knight.
“We lost three important pieces,” Moore said. “We basically lost the core of our defense. We're going to feel that in the beginning.”
To repeat as Pacific Conference champions, the Bowmen will have their hands full with No. 6 Glencoe, No. 7 McMinnville and No. 8 Forest Grove. Two of their losses last year came against Forest Grove and McMinnville, a state semifinalist.
“I don't think any of the other conferences compare to the top of the Pacific, for sure,” Moore said.
Sherwood's nonleague schedule includes five games against teams ranked in the preseason coaches poll in No. 2 Jesuit, co-No. 3 Sunset, co-No. 3 West Linn, No. 5 North Medford and No. 9 Roseburg. The Bowmen also will play two ranked 5A teams in No. 4 Canby and No. 6 Wilsonville.
jerryu@osaa.org
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