OK, so we all know that the season technically started more than two weeks ago. But we also know that, in reality, most schools have a large chunk of their seasons to play.
That's why this week's column is going to be like a second preview of the season -- in addition to the spring sports preview issue we put out last month. So here you go: The ABCs of softball in the Valley.
A is for the District 3 Class A title that Greenwood is trying to defend this year.
B is for the Blass girls (JoEllen and Kirsten) at Southern Columbia.
C is for Chad Everhart, the new Upper Dauphin coach this season.
D is for Duane Ford, the Central Columbia coach who recorded his 700th career win last week.
E is for an even record (i.e., .500), which teams in District 4 must maintain to qualify for the playoffs.
F is for forty-three feet, the new distance between the pitching rubber and the plate.
G is for Gantt, as in Troy, the new coach at Greenwood.
H is for hitting, which we should see more of since they moved the pitchers back three feet.
I is for illegal pitch, which can cost a defensive team if there's a runner or runners on base (they get to advance).
J is for Jersey Shore, which advanced all the way to the Class AAA state championship game last year before falling to Bellefonte.
K is for Keefer, as in Bill, the Milton coach who has more than 100 career wins.
L is for Loyalsock, which is one of four HAC-II schools to have won a state title (the others are Central Columbia, South Williamsport and Mifflinburg).
M is for Madison Krebs, the Milton first baseman who's The Daily Item Preseason Player of the Year.
N is for new look in the HAC-II. With Mifflinburg dropping down from the HAC-I, a rugged league got that much tougher.
O is for orange, a prominent color among HAC-I schools (Milton, Danville, Jersey Shore).
P is for Panthers, be they from Bloomsburg or Milton.
Q is for Quay, as in Jen, the fourth-year coach at Newport.
R is for regional showdown, which is what happens at the end of each year when the District 4 and District 6 All-Stars go head to head.
S is for slap hitters, who often bat lead off.
T is for Taylor Parker, the Warrior Run hurler who's The Daily Item's preseason first-team pitcher.
U is for Upper Dauphin, which has won the last four Tri-Valley League championships.
V is for victories, which no one has very many of at this point (thanks to Mother Nature).
W is for Warrior Run, which made the playoffs last year for the first time since 2001.
X is for Lewisburg infielder Amy Faux.
Y is for Yost, as in Jersey Shore's Hannah.
Z is for Zampetti, as in Sam, who plays softball and runs track for Danville.
— Sports reporter Todd Stanford covers high school softball for The Daily Item. E-mail comments to tstanford@dailyitem.com.
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