Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
The Woodmore softball team returns six players from last year’s team, including a talented senior trio, as it looks to continue the success shown by the school’s soccer and basketball programs this year.
“It’s a really great group of girls,” Woodmore’s ninth-year head coach Scott Smith said. “They work hard, and they're competitive. A lot of them played soccer or played basketball, in which they were very successful. Last year, we had a successful softball season. They just want to carry on and finish strong here this school year.”
Last year, Woodmore finished 16-9 overall and 11-7 in SBC play before falling to Gibsonburg in the Division VI district championship game. This year, three key players will be back in seniors Kelsey Kaylor, Camille Strong, and Izzy Helmke.
Kaylor, who will be a four-year starter at catcher, batted .429 with 33 runs, 16 stolen bases, and six doubles en route to Second Team All-SBC recognition last year. Strong batted .352 with 34 runs, two doubles, one triple, and six stolen bases as the team’s starting shortstop. Helmke returns as the starting second baseman after missing last year due to injury.
The trio of junior outfielder Aubrey Becerra, junior pitcher Liv Scavio, and sophomore third baseman Payton Whitcum are also among the returners.
Becerra registered 17 runs, two doubles, and a stolen base last year as she enters her third season as a starter.
“I think she's going to have a really good year this year,” Smith said. “(I expect) big things with her bat. She's been looking good in practice so far.”
Scavio pitched a team-high 81.1 innings last year while finishing 11-5, registering a 3.44 ERA, and striking out 62. She joined Kaylor as a Second Team All-SBC selection, while also batting .385 with 23 runs, a team-best nine doubles, and one triple.
Whitcum is the team’s lone sophomore. She batted .320 with 20 runs, three doubles, one triple, and six stolen bases last year.
“She really solidified us last year as a freshman,” Smith said. “She played third base for us. Her primary position would be catcher, but I'm lucky enough to have a four-year starter at catcher, so we moved Payton to third base last year, and she was just incredible for us.”
With no JV team this year, Smith will field a roster that includes 15 players, including a nine-person freshmen class.
“(They’re) doing a lot of learning,” Smith said of his rookies. “They're pretty raw right now. It’s a little bit of a different mindset for us. Usually, if you have your JV team, they kind of learn at the JV level. This group, they work hard. They got great attitudes. I'm actually looking forward to seeing what they can do, but they have to step it up in a varsity game.”
Among those freshmen, three will see starting roles each game, including Alexys Becerra, who will likely start at first base while serving as a backup pitcher.
Rebekah Wauford has a good chance to be one of the starters in the outfield. Annabelle Floro and Elena Rife have also “shown a lot of promise” according to Smith, while the rest of the rookies will battle it out in the outfield.
“We'll kind of wait and see what happens, but I have a feeling it's going to be a good year,” Smith said.
