{"id":43428,"date":"2023-04-13T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelandmark.com\/?p=43428"},"modified":"2023-04-13T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T10:00:00","slug":"versatility-speed-and-solid-pitching-to-carry-wrhs-softball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2023\/04\/13\/versatility-speed-and-solid-pitching-to-carry-wrhs-softball\/","title":{"rendered":"Versatility, speed and solid pitching to carry WRHS softball"},"content":{"rendered":"
By John Orrell <\/b>
Landmark Correspondent<\/i><\/div>\n

HOLDEN \u2014 Inscribed on the side of the Wachusett Regional High third base dugout is signage reminding all of the celebrated 2019 softball season when the Mountaineer girls took home a Division 1 state title with an unblemished record of 25-0. Keeping the memory alive has been an inspiration for teams such as this year\u2019s 2023 edition, which follows a stellar 22-3 record just 12 months ago.<\/p>\n

Could this season be more of the winning culture that has been commonplace under the tutelage of head coach Jason Lanpher? The Landmark caught up with Lanpher and his four captains at a recent practice. Emma Britt, Gracie Granger, Megan Larson and Sydney Lyne all shared their impressions of this year\u2019s squad, which opened its season with a 2-1 nail-biter victory over Grafton High on April 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re young and we\u2019re going to win differently than we have in the past, but we still have the ability to go the distance,\u201d Lanpher said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re a young team, you want to get things rolling in the right direction as soon as you can work out any bugs that come up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have people stepping into new roles, but it\u2019s always interesting to see who steps into what role,\u201d said Lanpher of his captains. \u201cWe\u2019re in that phase now where we\u2019re going to see who the boisterous one is, who the quiet one will be. They all take on different roles, and I think the four of them will work together really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt brought our spirits up winning our first game. It\u2019s good to start off strong,\u201d said Lyne of the kickoff to the season. \u201cNobody likes to start off the season with a loss. We battled back, and it just showed that we can do anything we want to do if we put our mind to it, if we work as a team and execute the plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all work well together on and off the field,\u201d echoed Granger, who will anchor third base once more this season. \u201cWith more practice, I think we can do it. As captains, we have to show the younger players confidence in their playing ability. We need to lift them up if they\u2019re struggling a little.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe four of us as captains all work well together,\u201d added Larson. \u201cWe have different personalities that go together and make each other better. We try to be really uplifting and do what\u2019s best for the team. If you start off on the right foot, it sets the scene for the rest of the season. It keeps the winning motivation going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve really come together as a team, especially after winning our first game.,\u201d said Britt. \u201cFirst games can be rusty, but I really think we were able to push through it and came together in the sixth and seventh innings. Everyone had the same goal, which to was to win it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lanpher preaches versatility, and a glance at this year\u2019s lineup reveals much of the same philosophy. Catcher, for instance, has five candidates in Britt, Tiegan Walsh, Laurel Field, Kendall Grady and McKenzie Caron.<\/p>\n

\u201cCatching is very fluid, and it\u2019s probably my strongest position. I have five catchers at the varsity level who\u2019d all be starters somewhere else,\u201d said Lanpher.<\/p>\n

Middle infielders will rotate with Walsh, Caitlin Ciccone, Esmee Frohock, Emerson Johnson and Fields all seeing time. Granger holds down the hot corner, while Lillian Chaisson will see the bulk of the playing time at first base.<\/p>\n

The outfield features speed and strong arms in Isabella Giaquinto, Avery Laitala, Isabel Moreno Amanda Roche and Ruby Lepore.<\/p>\n

Super-standout pitcher Riley Quirk has graduated and will be missed, but Lanpher has a trio who will take the mound with confidence and talent. Shayna Bakun, Taylor Stuart and Larson are capable of eating up innings while the offense puts points on the board.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see us having a definitive ace,\u201d said Lanpher. \u201cBoth Shayna and Taylor are going to take up the bulk of the innings, and Megan\u2019s going to be their support. They all complement each other very well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the athleticism and the interchangeability. I have kids who play all summer in different positions. They come here and I need them at a different position, and they just mold into what the team needs. It\u2019s good for them because it takes them out of something they\u2019re used to. It shows how good they are if they can play multiple positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of the 2023 WachusettRegionalHighSchool varsity softball team are Emma Britt, Shayna Bakun, McKenzie Caron, Lillian Chaisson, Caitlin Ciccone, Laurel Field, Esmee Frohock, Isabella Giaquinto, Kendall Grady, Gracie Granger, Emerson Johnson, Avery Laitala, Megan Larson, Ruby Lepore, Sydney Lyne, Isabel Moreno, Amanda Roche, Taylor Stuart and Tiegan Walsh.<\/p>\n

Photo: Wachusett Regional High 2023 softball captains, from left:\u00a0Emma Britt, Megan Larson, Gracie Granger, Sydney Lyne.\u00a0 Submitted photo.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HOLDEN \u2014 Inscribed on the side of the Wachusett Regional High third base dugout is signage reminding all of the celebrated 2019 softball season when the Mountaineer girls took home a Division 1 state title with an unblemished record of 25-0. Keeping the memory alive has been an inspiration for teams such as this year\u2019s 2023 edition, which follows a stellar 22-3 record just 12 months ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":96545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}