Softball: Lady Tigers grew into role of favorite

It's a tough role, playing the favorite for an entire season.

The pressure is magnified somewhat when those expectations are projected on an untested field of competition.

It was only after that pressure was removed that the Douglas softball team figured how very good they could be.

Douglas was christened by many to be the early favorite to win the Sierra League after it was announced that perennial powerhouse Reno High would be leaving for the High Desert due to realignment last year.

What no one really took into account, though, was how good the incoming three teams would be.

"It was a different year," Douglas coach Andy Mitchell said. "The three new teams (Galena, Manogue and Fallon) made the league on the whole much stronger. We lost Reno, but the other three were very competitive.

"We didn't have any weeks that we could just look past. Every team we played was strong and it made the overall level of competition much higher."

After losing the first two games of a late-season series to Bishop Manogue, it appeared any hopes of following through on those league title hopes were gone.

At that point, Manogue was on a double-digit win streak and Douglas had lost six of its last eight. Douglas won the series finale 3-0, but the streaking Miners appeared bound for the league title.

"That series was a disappointment to us," Mitchell said. "We didn't hit well and we didn't win. We were expecting to win that series. It was tough to have control of our own destiny taken out of our hands, but the girls had a lot of pride. They felt they were the best team in the league.

"They continued to work hard. There were no guarantees, but they knew even though things looked tough, they could still do the things they were in control of."

The Tigers responded by winning six of their last seven games and Manogue stumbled in back-to-back series against Damonte and Galena.

When the dust cleared, Douglas had claimed its first league crown since 2004.

"I think that Manogue series took some of the pressure off," Mitchell said. "We've been the underdogs the last two years and this year we were the favorite. Once that pressure was gone, we started just concentrating on being ourselves."

That ability to fight through adversity came in handy during the first round of the regional playoffs when Douglas trailed McQueen 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The Tigers came up with a nine-run inning to race ahead to the 10-6 win. They fought their way through to finish as one of the top four teams in the region for the third consecutive year.

Douglas will lose only two starters to graduation " pitcher Stephanie Harper and right fielder Mackenzie Cauley " but the rest of the starting lineup, along with a number of strong reserves, should remain intact. Utility player Marina Diaz and catcher Tara Paiement will also be graduating after multiple years at the varsity level.

"Obviously Stephanie has been the cornerstone of this program for the last four years," Mitchell said. "Mackenzie was a solid starter for us too and we'll miss the seniors for sure. We do have a strong returning group and we expect to be strong overall next year."

Among the top returners for the Tigers next year will be shortstop Emily Weaver, catcher Katrina Morgan, outfielder Mia Townsell and corner infielders Morgan Blomstrom and Rebecca Trute, all of whom are multi-season starters for the Tigers already. Center fielder Maddy Gilbert is coming off a breakout season and Brenna White is expected to return at second base.

Freshmen pitchers Kaylee Duryee and Chelsea Fent each saw some time in the circle this year and will likely share time as sophomores next year.

Naomi Roberts and Ali Murray each had a number of key contributions this season, along with junior Rachel Davis.