2013 Season Preview – This Spring Spells Great Optimism Ahead for FLCC
CANANDAIGUA – After a year of transition in 2012, the Lady Lakers, entering 2013 with a talented group of athletes, will be looking to make a splash in the regional polls throughout the spring months of the upcoming softball season. Pat Clark, who will enter his second season as head coach of Finger Lakes, has high expectations for this year's squad. The Lady Lakers will return a strong sophomore class and will welcome a superb cast of freshmen. Their stellar newcomers will look to make an immediate impact in the region III softball world this season.
The Lady Lakers will return seven sophomores this season, six of which were in the lineup in 2012. The team will be led by captains Ashley Sheesley and Samantha German. Sheesley, a solid infielder with a great glove, started the majority of the 2012 season at first base and led the team last year with a .985 fielding percentage.
German was an offensive threat while getting the job done at third base. She was one of the most consistent hitters in the lineup in 2012. Overall, German batted .390 and slugged .480 all while collecting 21 RBIs. The Lady Lakers will look to lean on the veteran leadership of Sheesley and German both on and off of the field throughout 2013.
Other top returning players looking to impact the 2013 season will be Nicole Taylor, Cassidy Smyers and Tamara Robertson. Taylor saw herself behind the plate for the majority of the 2012 season. She was a dominant defensive player with a .974 fielding percentage and will have more opportunities this season to showcase her versatility at other positions.
Smyers and Robertson will both bring great stability to the field with their quality pieces of leather and will also display speed and intensity on the offensive side of the diamond.
The incoming freshmen class is undoubtedly one of the best in Finger Lakes softball history. The team will be led on the mound by pitchers Rachel Mertens, Elaina Evinsky, and Kelly Kier. Mertens was named Section III AA Player of the Year in 2012. As a senior last year at Henniger High School, she posted a staggering 1.96 Earned Run Average combined with 147 strikeouts in 127 innings pitched.
Evinsky, a standout player from Spencerport High, compiled 104 strikeouts in just 99 innings her senior season. In addition to her dazzling numbers on the mound, she hit .415 from the plate in her final year of high school.
Kier, as a senior at Ruben A Cirillo in 2012, posted a 9-1 win-loss record along with a 1.78 Earned Run Average. Her staggering record and ERA came with 66 strikeouts against just 15 walks in 70 innings. All three of these pitchers are going to be key role players in the Lady Lakers rotation this spring. All three have the ability to start at another position when not on the mound.
The team will also look towards shortstop Courtney Edger and catcher Taylor Briggs to lead in the defensive realm. In Edger's senior season at Thomas A. Edison, she was selected Second-Team All-County and was named Edison High School Athlete of the Year. Her quickness will be just what the Lady Lakers need up the middle of the field.
An Afton Central graduate, Briggs, a solid signal caller and outfielder in high school, was named both First-Team All-State and Second-Team All-State in her junior and senior years respectively. Her glove brings reliability and strength to the backstop for Finger Lakes.
The Lady Lakers softball team is looking forward to what has the makings of being a promising season ahead. They are hoping to make great headway in building what is expected to be a growing program for years to come. Finger Lakes will open its season in Myrtle Beach, SC on March 18th against Herkimer County CC beginning at 9 a.m.