Newcastle graduated only five seniors from last year’s Racer Fastpitch Softball team, but they were five State Champions who went on to play on the college level.
Head Coach Mike Crossley said, “We lost a good bunch,but we’ll be saying the same thing next year. Every school goes through it. Most of the time, you lose three or four good players.”
Crossley said he has seven juniors, six who were starters, who return as seniors this year.
Graduating last year were: Hailey Guthier, Meredith Strange, Aubree Ferguson, Brooklyn Lyles, and Madelyn Torrenueva.
Returning are Vanessa Portillo who started in left field, Lily Portillo who started at catcher. Lexie Lovelace returns at second base, and Cortni Smith played third base last year and will bump over to shortstop this year, Crossley said. Jacie Brooks started in right field, and Addison McCann hit for her, and will be pursuing a starting position this year instead of just designated hitter. Crossley added that Amy Campbell ran bases last year, and will also be back.
“We have a lot of leadership back, and some of those girls have been in the fire, playing a lot of ball,” Crossley said. “We do have some growing up to do in some key areas, however, but the girls are fighting for position and I expect us to be alright.”
With pitching last year mostly being handled by Aubree Ferguson, the Racers have a big hole to fill.
“Pitching plays such a big role in fastpitch,” Crossley said. “It’s tough to replace someone like Aubree. The next ones will have to grow up early. We always seem to find the answer.”
Crossley said he has three young pitchers. All are 14-year-old freshmen. They are: Adella (Addie) Loman, a move-in from Mustang, and Alexus Donahue and Madilyn (Maddie) Folds. Crossley said Loman’s mom, Jessica Kirby Loman, was an All-State pitcher for Newcastle in 1998, and went on to the University of Central Oklahoma to play. Crossley said she wanted to move home and have her daughter play for the Racers. He added that Donahue’s sister, Destiny, was an All-State third baseman for Newcastle in 2020.
Other players who will be vying for playing time are: Brooklyn Torrenueva, Leighton Wooten, Jordie Brooks, Timber Harris, and Amy Campbell.
Crossley said, “We have some excellent players back. That group of sisters are excellent players and they’ll provide some leadership. Hopefully the younger players will gain the experience, and by the end of the season, we’ll be a tough ball club.”
Crossley said all these girls are willing to put in the work, and they know they have a lot of tradition to uphold.
“They know they have to work and keep pushing,” Crossley said. “They are a good bunch to work with.”
Crossley said last year was a magical year with the Racers finishing 33-4 on the year and as State Champions. He said so many of their games were won by run-rule.
“We just beat everybody down,” he said.
With that said, he added that you can’t fall into the trap that if you lose a few, that you aren’t any good.
“We may start off rough, but we’ll get there and be a good ball club in the end,” Crossley said.
The Racers officially begin their season at the Norman High School-Norman North Tournament this weekend. They start at Norman Friday with a 1 p.m. game against Guthrie. They follow with a 2:30 p.m. game against Norman, and then an 11 a.m. game Saturday against Noble. Crossley said the finish determines who the Racers will play on the other side of the bracket at Norman North.
The first regular game is 5 p.m. Monday, August 19 against Perkins-Tryon. This is Alumni Night for the Racers and Pioneer will be there selling burgers and drinks as a fundraiser for the team, with all proceeds donated to the Racers Fastpitch.
On Tuesday, the Racers host Blanchard in a tough District game. Crossley said they were in the State Semi-Finals last year, but lost to Purcell.
