CRAFTSBURY – The Craftsbury Academy (CA) softball team have six returning players from last season but will have some key holes to fill as they look to bounce back from a disappointing ending last spring.
Head coach Ashley Gravel will lead her program to their seventh opener this week under her watch. She’ll have to fill key holes left after the graduation losses of Sarah Collier, Sadie Skorstad, Sophia Augsberger, Haley Smith and Hazel Graham. She’ll also have to navigate a rugged Mountain League schedule without the services of Peoples Academy (PA) talents Kaleigh Mason and Emily Hoffman. PA is rebooting its softball program this spring with a junior varsity team after several years of dormancy. Gravel’s squad got off to a nightmare 0-7 start last season, but played their best ball late, winning their last four games to earn a home playoff seed in the Division IV playoffs. Their season ended with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Caledonia United in the first round.
“We have been practicing with 14 strong so far, which is great. I’ve had great support from my assistant coach Joel Van Dyke, along with returning alumni managers Sarah Collier, Haley Smith, Sadie Skorstad and Alexis Van Dyke. The weather has made it difficult for everyone to get outside to practice or scrimmage so far, but we are returning six players with experience, and they are doing a great job so far mentoring our talented young players,” said Gravel.
CA’s Savanah Boyce, Adelina Augsberger and Gracie Crown return with a ton of varsity experience, along with Hazen Union’s Ginger Bowley, Kaitlyn Cloutier and Serenity Leach. Augsberger and Crown earned Second Team All-Mountain League honors last spring, while Boyce earned Honorable Mention for her workhorse efforts in the circle. Alex Bingham, Lana Stacey and Libby Bowley are newcomers from Hazen this spring. Abbigail Eames, Ada Allen, Eva Small, Katherine Black and Linsey Allen round out first year players on the roster from CA.
“We have some fresh new faces on the team this year that have never played varsity softball before, but they are looking promising so far with some possible pitchers to add to the rotation. We are excited to partner with Hazen again to create a competitive team and continue to grow the program here at Craftsbury. Our participation numbers continue to be good the last couple of years and we are definitely excited and look forward to getting the season underway,” said Gravel.
Weather permitting, the Lady Chargers were scheduled to open the season on the road against defending Division IV champs Richford this past Monday. They welcome Winooski-Burlington to Dustan Field Wednesday and will hit the road for a match-up against Blue Mountain on Friday.
