Lansing softball building on historic season

Lansing softball’s last season was a memorable one. After multiple winless seasons in a row, the Bobcats went 11-3 and reached the Section IV playoffs for the first time since 1998. There were just three seniors who graduated from that team, leading to a strong core of six seniors on this year’s squad.

Completely changing the path of a program is a difficult act to follow, but with the season starting in less than a week, head coach Pete Walker believes his team can continue the Bobcats’ ascension in Section IV softball.

“Our team is returning six seniors with [pitcher] Ashley Bell and [catcher] Iris Boerman leading them,” Walker said. “Our battery is back along with [Reace] Todi, [Corinna] Petrich and the two Benson sisters. We also have seven more returning juniors and now sophomores. We still will continue to be strong. I think we’re still going to be in great shape. We set goals last season just to bring Lansing softball back up to the top of the section, and I think we did that.”

It’s been a very successful year for Lansing girls sports. In the fall, the soccer team was the top-ranked Class C team in New York state prior to the Section IV Championship, and the volleyball team won its first Section IV title in nearly two decades. With several athletes from those teams on the softball roster, they are ready to keep the train rolling in the spring.

“They came in fired up,” Walker said. “We have a large crossover with soccer, and then volleyball takes probably the next most, and then we also have quite a few swimmers that come back. They’re fired up, they know that they’re the team to beat this year, and they’re ready for it. It’s been a lot of fun just getting back out on the field with them and seeing them and seeing how they progressed.”

Among the three seniors that graduated from last year’s team were Kiki Lovejoy and McKayla Burke-Walsh, who both got on base more often than anyone else on the team. Filling their roles will not be easy, but Walker has a succession plan in place.

“Kiki was a natural leader and a great leadoff batter that was able to get on base and make things happen,” Walker said. “McKayla was a big bat coming up in the fourth spot for the whole season until she was injured. Now, we have Iris Boerman who will step into Kiki’s spot, and then Ashley Bell will step up and take the reins in the fourth spot. I think they’re going to fill in fine. I would think that they would be just as successful as both Kiki and McKayla.”

The transition of leadership will be an important factor for the Bobcats this season, and Walker has already seen what his group of seniors is capable of.

“The way that they act off field is the same way that they act on field, which is so good to see,” Walker said. “They’re true teammates. All of the seniors that we have, I see them routinely at other school functions like coming to support the volleyball team. Brooklyn, my daughter, was on the volleyball team, so I was at all the volleyball games, and the soccer players came and cheered them on. They did the same thing at swimming. It’s just a fun bunch of girls.”

Walker plans on challenging his team in the regular season this year after almost entirely facing IAC opponents last season. This year’s schedule includes a tournament outside of Section IV and a matchup against Class AA Ithaca.

“After the season last year, we sat down and we looked at all of our successes and then, of course, at all of our rooms for improvement,” Walker said. “The one big thing that came up was that we didn’t play enough teams to get to see other pitchers or other defensive strategies. That was one thing I promised the girls that I would work on, that we would get outside of our division and play other teams.”

The dramatic turnaround of the softball program under Walker and assistant coach Fran Bell has been a sight to behold, and Walker talked about why it happened so suddenly.

“The talent was always there,” Walker said. “I think it was just being able to flip that switch on the girls and get them to believe in themselves. I think that was the one part that was missing for a long time. They did it from the very first pitch of the season last season and they haven’t stopped. I think that’s the biggest part of what made them successful. It was always there. It was the same girls growing up throughout the entire program.”

A scrimmage against Harpursville on Saturday is the lone tune-up the Bobcats will have before Monday’s season-opener against Dryden. Walker expects both Dryden games this season to be extremely competitive after all three Lansing wins over the Lions were decided by less than two runs, making it an appropriate way to start the year.

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