South Beloit softball eager to get started with mix of young and old

SOUTH BELOIT—For South Beloit softball head coach Sam Cady, it’s looking like an ideal combination.

A mix of veteran players who now have plenty of playoff experience under their belts coupled with a group of young freshmen and sophomores who can fill in the gaps created by graduating seniors.

And expectations are now higher than ever after the SoBos clinched a fourth-straight conference title, won a regional championship and made it all the way to the sectional finals last season.

“All those girls who were on this team last year, they saw it and they’re hungry to try and do it again,” said Cady, who is co-head coach with his wife Jennifer. “They’ve seen what it takes now because a lot of the times you see it, they get to those big moments and they just don’t quite know how to win. It’s just going to make them more confident when they get to it.”

This year South Beloit will need to make a postseason push without 1A First-Team All-State pitcher Trinity Mesch, who sported an 0.82 ERA while striking out 183 batters and allowing just 38 walks. She also provided a team-leading .627 batting average with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs.

“We had some great leaders who have graduated in Trinity and Miah (Higgins),” Cady said. “We knew with our pitching we could be in any game, we just had to back up our pitchers.”

The SoBos expect to lean on their pitching again this season with junior Whitney Schnack and sophomore Macey Lineman expected to toss a majority of the innings.

“Whitney was right there with a lot of different things,” Cady said. “She actually had more no-hitters than what Trinity had last year. She’s just as talented and she’ll be extremely beneficial for us to have on the mound this year. And Macey’s come a long way. Last year she didn’t get a ton of time just because of who she was behind, but we’ve seen a lot of growth over the last year from her.”

Cady added that freshman Jasmine Fago will also see some time from the mound throughout the year.

Senior Zorah Martin, who was primarily a center fielder last season but caught Schnack’s starts and moves to the full-time catching role this year, praised her pitchers’ softball IQ.

“Whitney has already stepped up to be the one who knows stuff,” Martin said. “Whitney’s been playing since she was little, so she understands the game. She helps even Taylor (Castor) and I out with stuff that we don’t know and helps us improve in other ways that we probably didn’t know we could.

“Same with Macey. She’s been playing longer than Taylor and I, and she understands the game so she’s able to even help the younger girls when needed.”

Castor, one of the two seniors on the squad, will lock down third base and provide a strong bat in the lineup.

“I can’t wait to see Taylor hit,” Martin said. “She’s definitely improved a lot from what I’ve seen. Taniyah Crawford as well, just with how she bats in general. I’d love to see her lay down more bunts and then just swing away on everything.”

Crawford will roam center field this season after moving from the infield because Cady expressed a need for a strong arm out there.

Junior Annabelle Dascher will spend her third-straight season as the starting right fielder while the left fielder spot will be up for grabs from a group of freshmen full of potential.

“It might be a little bit of which of them has the hot hand at that point in time,” Cady said.

“Our younger players are really good,” Castor said. “They work together and are good at taking constructive criticism. If they have questions, they’ll ask. From the first day there was not even a glimpse of ‘Oh no, this might be a little rough.’ No, they just clicked.”

Natalia Cassaro, Bella Glidden and Destanee Campbell all are frosh players who have the ability to earn playing time in right field.

Another first-year player, sophomore Shelby Ambrose, will be the starting second baseman.

“She’s picked up stuff very, very fast,” Cady said. “She’s a very good athlete, a really good volleyball player for us and was at every game last year and finally decided to come out and play for us.”

Freshman Jasmine Fago will slot in at shortstop, where she has some experience, and can be a nice addition in the lineup.

Cady said he expects his top hitters to include Schnack, Martin and Lineman, who will return at first base.

Christian Liberty Academy joins the Northeastern Athletic Conference, and Cady noted it’s nice to see the small conference grow to four teams. He expects the trio of squads to play the SoBos tough.

Castor added South Beloit is eager to get going.

“This year we have a lot of flame built up underneath us,” she said. “We’re going to come out with heat. We have a lot of potential.”