AA softball: Glacier reloads for ‘22; Bravettes trending up

Three senior starters are gone but three All-State picks remain, so the Glacier Wolfpack softball squad doesn’t figure to fall far in 2022.

Senior shortstop Sammie Labrum, sophomore pitcher Ella Farrell and sophomore second baseman Kenadie Goudette were big reasons the Pack went 23-5 last season, with a fourth-place finish at the State AA tournament.

So were Kynzie Mohl, who took her .634 batting average and 18 home runs to the University of Montana, and leadoff Kenna Vanorny with her 62 runs scored.

Yet Labrum (.466, 7 home runs), Goudette (.432, 4 homers) and Farrell (.379, 4 homers) make any lineup formidable, and Farrell struck out 151 hitters in 88.1 innings besides.

“We’re definitely going to be competitive,” said coach Abby Connolly, who takes the Pack to Great Falls for games against CMR (3 p.m.) and Great Falls High (5 p.m.) today. “Our seniors in particular had tremendous offseasons, but our juniors and sophomores will also contribute a lot, as well as our freshmen.”

Seniors Alli Kernan (.300) and Teagan Powell (.274) started last season; Kernan will be in left field and Powell is at first base. Junior Morgan Vivian appears ready to take over third, with junior Avery Anderson holding a utility role.

Sophomore Emma Cooke, who hit .312 last season, takes over in center; right field is in competition, Connolly said, though junior Brooklyn Imperato could be the pick.

Mohl shared the pitching duties with Farrell a year ago; now the backup could be Goudette, Anderson, Vivian or Kernan. Connolly also is impressed with freshman hurlers Makiah Persinger and Olivia Gibbons.

Connolly noted that 23 players fill out the team, though one is injured. “It’s probably the most balanced, 1-through-22, roster we’ve had in a long time,” she said.

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Flathead went from two wins in 2019 to six last season (2020 was washed out by Covid-19), and now coach Jack Foster has to replace five productive seniors, including pitchers Karissa Comer and Ilyssa Centner.

Three seniors dot this year’s roster: outfielders Macy Craver, Lyssa Leimkuehler and Anita Shevtsova. Craver and Leimkuehler will start, as could freshman Brynn Mailman.

Catcher Laynee Visser (.317) is one of the top returnees, along with Craver (.275), junior Ellie Eve and sophomore Kaidyn Lake (.306).

“Those are the four that played varsity last year,” Foster said. “Other than them, we are really young.”

Three freshman pitchers are cause for encouragement: Lacie Franklin, Ava Besson and Courtney Hendrickson, with Franklin having the edge for today’s opener against Great Falls High.

Lake is penciled in at shortstop, with Eve at first or third. Besson can play third; Franklin can play first. Mailman and sophomore Teegan Carlon could share second base.

“Most of the young kids have played summer ball, so even though we’re young, we’ve played some,” Foster said. “The team’s going to grow. We’re going to get better as the year goes on. It’s been a lot of fun so far, with their attitudes and their hard work. Really been a good group.”

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Missoula Sentinel, which edged past Glacier at the end of the regular season and then ousted the Pack from the state tournament, remains strong. Junior C. Hoover returns as the Spartans’ No. 1 pitcher; Haley Wolsky and Kodi Fraser are back to lead an offense that graduated UM signee Grace Hardy.

Helena Capital is probably in the hunt as well behind its trio of sophomore standouts: Anna Cockhill, Taylor Sayers and Kathryn Emmert.