AREA TEAMS READY FOR DIAMOND; FALL HIGH SCHOOL SEASON OPENS THIS WEEK (PREP SOFTBALL PREVIEW 2000)

The 1999 season was another good one for area high school fall softball teams and the year 2000 should yield its fair share of success as well.

Last season, three of the six local squads won district titles, led by Kelly, which amazingly captured its 14th consecutive district crown and finished third in the Class 2A state tournament.

Other defending district champions are Jackson in Class 4A and Perryville in Class 3A. Both will be gunning for their third straight district titles this year.

Cape Girardeau Central and Notre Dame are also expected to be highly competitive and perhaps challenge for district honors, St. Vincent should have an improved season and Delta will be fielding a fall squad for the first time.

Following is a look at the local softball teams as the season gets under way this week.

Cape Central

Amy Blattel enters her second season as the Lady Tigers' coach with an experienced squad that should be a district contender.

"We have set high goals for ourselves, but we always do," said Blattel. "Winning the district championship is a goal and getting to state is a goal, but we know we have our work cut out."

The Lady Tigers return eight starters and seven seniors from last year's squad that went 14-13.

"We've got a good group coming back and also some good young players to help out," Blattel said.

Leading the list of returning regulars are the talented Voerg twins, who have been among the area's premier athletes for the past several years and are now seniors.

Amber Voerg, who has already earned multiple all-state honors, played shortstop and center field last year and will probably be in center this year.

Ashlie Voerg, also a multiple all-state performer, hurt her knee in the second game last year and missed the remainder of the season. She will be at shortstop.

Other senior returning starters are Sarah Muench (infield/outfield), Jessica McDonald (catcher), Katie Dougherty (first base) and Cassie Gross (pitcher). The other returning regulars are juniors Ashley Foutch (outfield) and Trisha Klipfel (third base).

Blattel will also be counting on the likes of senior Lindsay Dement, who saw varsity action last year; junior Holly Schnurbusch, who was on last year's JV; sophomore Alex Wieser, who saw primarily JV action but was moved up to the varsity late last season; and freshman Megan McDonald.

Gross was one of last season's primary hurlers and she'll be aided by Schnurbusch and Megan McDonald.

"I'm counting on all three of them to get the job done," said Blattel. "They've really worked hard and have definitely improved since last year."

Central opens the season Monday at Perryville.

Notre Dame

For the first time in a long time, the Lady Bulldogs will have a new coach as Jerry Grim stepped down after close to 20 years on the job, although he will remain at the school as girls basketball coach.

Stepping in for Grim is Chris Janet, Notre Dame's athletic director and golf coach and formerly the school's boys basketball coach.

"I'm excited. I'm having fun with it," said Janet. "I think we have a good young team. We've got some talented young kids."

Notre Dame, which went 12-14 last season and fell to Kelly in the 2A district championship game, lost just two starters from that squad.

Among the returnees is sophomore Ramona Blankenship, who pitched every game last year. She figures to get help this season from junior Mika Williamson, who missed all of last year after injuring a shoulder right before the season started.

"They're both pretty steady and consistent," Janet said.

Other returning regulars are senior Laura Huber (first base); juniors Katlyn Kelly (second base) and Traci Kluesner (third base); and sophomores Ashley Reinagel (center field), Stacey Schwartz (catcher) and Sara Berkbigler (infield/outfield).

Other seniors are Jennifer Stout and Gina Bradshaw while Janet will also be looking for contributions from juniors Emily Scherer and Geri Bradshaw; sophomore Sarah Gosche; and freshmen Laura Weismueller and Stacey Seyer.

"I'm pretty enthused about it," said Janet. "It's hard for me to judge because I haven't seen the other teams in the area, but we're pretty optimistic about the season."

The Lady Bulldogs begin the season Tuesday, hosting St. Vincent.

Jackson

The Lady Indians have had back-to-back exceptional seasons, winning conference and district championships both years. Coach Becky Riney knows it will be difficult to make it three in a row, but that's the goal for her squad.

"We hope that tradition will carry on," she said. "It will be a big challenge to win district again because everybody is always out to get you when you've won it.

"But I'm optimistic. We lost some really good players, but we have some key players back. I think we'll be really competitive and our goal is to win it (districts) again."

While Jackson graduated several key performers from last year's 19-10 squad, including its entire pitching staff, Riney returns five starters and she'll be looking for leadership from seven seniors in all.

Leading the returning regulars is senior catcher Amanda Bollinger, who earned all-state honors a year ago. Other starters back from last season, all of them seniors, are Heidi Jansen (first base), Wendy Blankenship (second base), Lindsey Meyr (outfield) and Lacy Hodo (outfield).

The other seniors are Casi Childers, a transfer from Cape Central who will become eligible in early September, and Jennifer VanGilder, who primarily played on the JV last year.

Juniors expected to contribute, most of whom played on last season's JV, are Ashley Myer, Jeanna Bolen, Ashley Snell, Melissa Sander, Sammie Thurman, Dana Wright, Kelly Beasley and Chantel Childers, the latter also a transfer from Cape Central.

Three sophomores could also battle for positions: Megan Green, Heather Tuschoff and Casey Hobeck.

Casi Childers and Snell figure to head up the pitching staff, with Tuschoff and Hobeck other mound candidates.

Jackson plays its first game Wednesday, hosting Notre Dame of St. Louis.

Kelly

Melanie Heuring, a former Kelly player and assistant coach, takes over the Lady Hawks' program from Rhonda Evans, who stepped down after leading the school to some sensational accomplishments, including a state title in 1997.

Heuring, who assisted Evans the past two years, knows she has some big shoes to fill. But she should have plenty of ammunition, with seven starters -- including two all-staters -- returning from last season's 24-4 squad.

"I'm expecting to have another very good team," said Heuring. " We're hoping to return to state and I feel like we have a good chance. That's always our goal from day one."

Kelly returns four senior starters, including pitcher Marissa Essner and shortstop Megan Beggs, who both earned all-state honors a year ago. The other two senior regulars back from last season are Nicole Kern (catcher) and Kari Lape (outfield).

The Lady Hawks have three returning junior starters in Bridgett Riley (pitcher/infield), Natalie Lewer (pitcher/infield/ outfield) and Alana Burford (second base).

Three sophomores figure to make up the rest of the regular lineup: Dana Essner, Allison Johnson and Cara Scherer.

Marissa Essner, one of the state's top pitchers for any class, and Riley should form a dominant mound tandem while Lewer adds even more depth at that position.

"Our pitching should be really strong," Heuring said. "All of these girls played at the Babe Ruth World Series, so they've got a lot of experience."

Kelly gets the season started Aug. 30 by hosting Notre Dame.

Perryville

The Lady Pirates had just a 15-15 overall record last year, but they turned it up in the postseason and nearly advanced to the Class 3A Final Four. A one-run loss in the quarterfinals eliminated Perryville.

"We lost some very good players, but we have a pretty good group coming back," said coach Lynn O'Neal. "Our goal is to go back to where we were last year, when we were one out away from getting to the final four.

"I think we'll be pretty good. How good, it's hard to say. We definitely have the potential to win another district. They know they'll have to work for it, but it's a good group of kids and they'll work hard."

Perryville returns five starters, including senior center fielder Stacy Baer, a two-time all-stater. Other returning regulars are seniors Jamie Martin (right field), Stephanie Schumer (catcher) and Megan Narrow (pitcher), along with junior Amanda Nuyt (third base). Narrow did the bulk of the Lady Pirates' mound work last year, winning 13 games.

O'Neal said the rest of his projected starting lineup figures to be juniors Julia Heuring (second base), Kate Bohnert (left field) and Amy Steffens (first base), along with sophomore Jenna Schuessler (shortstop).

Among others expected to contribute are senior Krystal Schamburg, junior Amanda Mahnken and sophomore Amanda Roth.

Perryville begins the campaign Monday, hosting Cape Central.

St. Vincent

Coach John Lambert is hoping his extremely young squad continues to make steady progress in its third season of fall play. The Squaws, who went 6-18 a year ago, have only three seniors.

"We had a really young team last year, mainly sophomores," said Lambert. "Our numbers are growing and I think our program is getting better. We've improved greatly from last year. I think if we could go .500 that would be an excellent season.

"The key for us is to develop pitching. This year we'll have three girls who have pitched three years and that will be a plus for us."

St. Vincent returns virtually its entire starting lineup from last year, led by seniors Monica Weith (first base), Amanda Brown (left field) and Amanda Richardet (catcher).

Juniors are Kindle Ernst (second base), Jean Brown (shortstop), Kara Carroll (third base), Nicole Hadler (right field), Jessica Kirn (pitcher), Julie Hager (pitcher) and Stephanie Brown (pitcher), who missed most of last year with an injury. A returning sophomore is Caitlin Hoeh (center field).

Lambert is also high on two freshmen, Amanda Carron and Rachel Hadler.

Kirn heads up the pitching staff after recording all six of St. Vincent's wins last year.

The Squaws open the season Tuesday at Notre Dame.

Delta

The Lady Bobcats will be fielding a fall team for the first time. Coach Anne Trieb knows the going might be a bit rough against a schedule filled with larger schools, but she is excited about the season.

"It's very exciting," she said. "We have our work cut out for us, but this is the first time we've had something to play for (there is no postseason in the spring). It gives us something to shoot for.

"We should be pretty decent. We're playing some big schools so I don't know if our record will reflect it, but it should help us get ready for districts."

Delta went 8-7 last spring and lost just two seniors. Returning starters are seniors Stephanie Dannenmueller (first base) and Erin Cook (third base); junior Jessica Springer (outfield); and sophomores Andrea Dohogne (second base), Alexis Nussbaum (outfield), Rebecca Below (catcher/outfield) and Rebecca Cook (pitcher), who basically did all of the Lady Bobcats' mound work last year.

Trieb will also be looking for contributions from four freshmen: Ashley Martin, Tiffany Johnson, April Helverman and Teri Diggs.

The Lady Bobcats begin the season Friday at Egyptian, Ill.