The Falcons:
Head coach: Jimmy Greene (13th season, 202-65-1)
Last season: 21-5, SPC tournament champs
Last 5 years: 93-26-1
Last 10 years: 166-53-1
By Mike London
Salisbury Post
MOUNT ULLA — Jimmy Greene is still coaching, but West Rowan softball will look different in his 13th season.
The Falcons will be younger and greener than they’ve been in many years and they have some uncertainty at the two most important positions on the field — pitcher and catcher. You can lose games at either of those places in a hurry.
West will have another winning season, but whether the Falcons can stay in their traditional role of strong contenders in the South Piedmont Conference remains to be seen. Just about everyone, including Greene, says that South Rowan, which has a lot of offense, plus experience in the circle, is the team to beat this year. East Rowan has been terrific in recent years, but was hit hard by graduation.
“We lost five starters and that’s the most we’ve ever lost in a season,” Greene said. “And you’re talking about some four-year starters and some other girls who were three-year starters. But we’ve still got a good group of girls. We’ll compete.”
Greene had Arabelle Shulenburger the last four seasons, so the Falcons haven’t had to worry about what was happening in the circle for a while. West won 20 games in all four of Shulenburger’s seasons, and she was the winning pitcher in just about all of them.
West plans to use a committee in the circle this time that will include the team’s two offensive standouts — Reese Poole and Raney Phelps. Poole and Phelps will play shortstop when they’re not pitching. Some new faces may also contribute to a pitching committee.
Poole hasn’t pitched in a few years, but she was a phenom in the circle in middle school and for Rowan Little League. She’s not big, but she’s very strong from years of training with KP Parks.
“We used four different pitchers in our doubleheader scrimmage with South Iredell,” Greene said. “Now that was different for us. But I didn’t think we looked half-bad in the circle or in the field.”
The catching will be really young, as both candidates for regular work behind the dish are freshmen. The names to know are Tinley Summitt and Makynzie Melchor.
Poole, already a UNC Greensboro commit as she enters her junior season, is going to hit a ton, so Greene’s job is to optimize her production by figuring out the best people to set the table in front of her and the best people to provide some protection behind her. West doesn’t want to see Poole trotting to first base with an intentional walk twice a game. Greene has some experience with handling a super hitter, as he had Tennessee sophomore Emma Clarke on his team not long ago.
Poole hit .477 as a sophomore with 10 homers. and she’s an asset defensively.
Phelps is a .500 on-base percentage person, with lots of contact, plus some pop, so she’ll be a key to the lineup. Phelps can play in the outfield if she’s not at pitcher or shortstop.
Besides Poole and Phelps, West has three more girls with substantial experience. That’s center fielder Kayla Burns, third baseman Ava Baxter and second baseman Ansley Jenkins, who can also pitch some.
Baxter is a young player with serious power.
West will need some timely blasts from Baxter, as the Falcons lost a lot of home-run power with the graduation of players such as Riley Haggas and EA Nance.
“I don’t think we’re going to be a team this year that can stand around and wait for a home run,” Greene said. “We’ve got to put the bat on the ball, put it in play, and try to create some chaos on the bases.”
Greene is counting on Lacey Houghton at first base. She’s been on the team for quite a while, but she’s going to get her first chance to be a regular this season.
West has quite a few more seniors who have been reserves — Regan Eggers, Kaylee Furr, Aubrey Javidi and Taylor Kelley — and freshman Emma Smith may be ready to help right away.
Assistant coaches will include Greene’s daughter, Parker, and Donnell Poole, the former Catawba baseball star who is Reese’s father.
“Our conference is pretty tough, and our non-conference schedule is super-tough because we’ve been successful so long that it’s hard to find people who will play us,” Greene said. “So we have to schedule state champs and potential state champs.”
