By BEN MCCARTY
News staff writer
March 11, 2008

Opening day is creeping up and quite a few spots in the lineup card are still question marks for the Hood River Valley softball team.

The Eagles lost both of their starting pitchers, the middle of their infield and most of their outfield to either graduation or injury in the off-season, and coach Phil Hukari does not mind waiting to see who rises to the top of the position battles.

“That trip to Florida is going to be like spring training for us,” he said as he watched his players go through warm-ups on the softball field this week. “We are going to get some good softball experience.”

The trip to Florida is a spring break tournament at in Orlando March 20-24 and will be the last chance for players to show they belong in the starting lineup before league play starts the following week.

While it will be a fun trip for the Eagles, there will also be plenty of work involved. HRV is scheduled to play four of the top teams from around the country – Peters Township from Florida, Corry from Pennsylvania, The Woodlands from Texas and Chester from South Carolina – providing several early-season chances for the Eagles’ younger players to prove themselves.

Key members gone from a team that came within one game of the state playoffs last year include shortstop Sarah Wood, second baseman Brianne Rowley, pitchers Lindsey Smith, Alisha Brower and Katrina Logsdon, catcher Alisa Logsdon and centerfielder Melissa Bramlett, who is out for the season with a knee injury.

That is a lot of holes to fill, but the team thinks they can fill in the gaps fairly well.

“We are doing a good job of filling some of those shoes,” third baseman Cara Williams said.

Key among those shoes will be the pitching staff. Practically every other team in the Mount Hood Conference returns at least one starting pitcher. The Eagles have none.

“We are basically going to start with pitching by committee,” Hukari said.

Among those who will get a chance to show their stuff on the mound will be senior Eryn Jacobson, junior Kaity Culpepper and sophomore Kelli Elliott.

In charge of handling all the new pitchers will be junior catcher Maggie Edwards.

“It’s going to mean a lot of after practice catching,” Edwards said of the adjustment process to all the new pitcher. “It’s extra work for me but if it helps the team, I’m all for it.”

Even with all the question marks surrounding positions in the field, the biggest one of all for Hukari is who will step up to carry the offense.

Rowley provided much of the team’s extra bases power the last several years, and her graduation left a big gap in the lineup.

Without much power in the lineup, the Eagles will hope to get people on base and move them around one base at a time.

To that end Hukari has been preaching discipline at the plate and the ability to get down a good bunt.

“We’ve got a bunch of slappers this year,” Hukari said.

Williams thinks that the offense will come as the Eagles get more comfortable at the plate.

“Our hitting is going pretty well,” she said.

Hukari is working the team hard to make sure that it continues to develop. At a practice last week, the team worked on bunts. For every bunt a player failed to get down, they had to run to the centerfield fence and back.

Even if the Eagles get all the question marks answered, they still have a long road ahead if they want to repeat the success of the past two season. With all the young players the Eagles are going to have to learn quickly to stay in the playoff race in a league that looks to be just as competitive as ever.

“This is truly a building year for us,” Hukari said. “These kids are really going to have to pick it up.”

The Eagles open their season Tuesday at home against Madras at 4 p.m.