[Stardust]

ASHLAND — West Carter softball coach Greg Reynolds has not had so many returning starters before.

Six Lady Comets are back to defend their 62nd District title, and they'll form the nucleus of a team that reached the 16th Region semifinals.

“I feel like we're going to be OK,” Reynolds said. “... We're going to focus a lot on fundamentals; so far, that's what we've been doing.”

A seventh returnee, senior Whitley Adkins, will miss the season because of a basketball injury.

“(Adkins) was probably our best base runner,” Reynolds said.

Four seniors are back: catcher Isabella Gearhart, third baseman Paige Tackett, outfielder Ashley Owens and second baseman Kelly Edge.

“(Gearhart) batted .542 for us last year,” Reynolds said. “She's a contact hitter. (Tackett's) more of a power hitter.”

Junior outfielder Courtney Reynolds (no relation to Greg) is also back. So is the coach's daughter, sophomore pitcher Leatha Reynolds, and it's a good thing — her father said she compiled a 1.50 earned run average with 180 strikeouts to go with her .307 batting average.

“(Leatha's) worked hard in the offseason,” Greg Reynolds said. “She's developed a couple more off-speed pitches.”

West's five freshmen — outfielder Amber Thornsbury, outfielder-catcher Brooke Adkins, shortstop Haley Hanshaw, outfielder-infielder Patience Jones and pitcher-first baseman Alyssa Shelton — should also contribute.

Besides winning another district crown and taking the region, Greg Reynolds wants one thing more.

“We want a 20-win season,” he said. “West Carter's never had one.”

New East Carter coach Derek Calhoun is not a new face in Grayson — he was an assistant at East the past two seasons. His Lady Raiders, however, are a practically a new team — just two seniors and a junior on the roster.

“We're very talented in the lower levels, but we're learning to play together,” Calhoun said.

Third baseman-left fielder Missy Withrow, her cousin, junior pitcher-first baseman Heather Withrow and senior third baseman-pitcher Tiffany McGuire are the most experienced players. Three freshmen, pitcher-outfielder Morgan Jacobs, Fairview transfer Tori Qualls and infielder Whitney Hall, are also expected to start.

“Our first goal is to win our district,” Calhoun said.

Morgan County finished at 5-19 last year. The Lady Cougars suffered a setback — junior pitcher Libby Smith is out two to three weeks because of arm lacerations she suffered during the March 2 tornado that leveled most of West Liberty.

Coach Darrell Bradley said sophomore Haley Wilson will pitch until Smith returns. “Haley will get the ball across, but hopefully fast enough to where our defense will get it,” he said.

Junior third baseman Heather Haney is expected to be the main power hitter.

Bradley said it'll be a winning season regardless of what happens because of his players' perseverance through the storm's trauma.

“I said, 'Girls, you might not win a game, you might not win a district, you might not win a region',” Bradley said. “But you're (still) state champions.”

Elliott County faces a daunting task — recovering from last season's 0-15 record in which the Lady Lions scored just 43 runs and surrendered 230.

Coach Monica Adkins said third baseman Rachel Flannery, shortshop Noel Skaggs and first baseman Alex Conley are the only seniors. Junior Ashley Holbrook and sophomore Kendra Markwell will be the pitchers, and freshman Paige Lewis figures to be the starting catcher.

“We're working on basic fundamentals,” Adkins said.