Classical softball has some holes to fill

The Classical High softball team will have plenty of new faces in the lineup this spring.The Rams finished 13-8 last year, including a loss to Acton-Boxboro in the first game of the tournament. Only three starters from that team are back – shortstop Afton Dean, catcher Sam Barker and outfielder Kristen Dean.”We lost just about everybody,” coach Chris Warren said. “In that group that just left, three started as freshmen and five as sophomores. They were with me for a long time. They were good players and great kids.”One of the players lost to graduation was pitcher Melissa McLaughlin. Warren is looking for help in that department from sophomore Jenny Garrity and senior Erin McCall.The Rams took another hit in centerfield with the loss of Savannah Clemens. Clemens had speed to burn and became a very effective slap bunter for the Rams. She hit .524 from the leadoff spot and was a Northeastern Conference All-Star.Warren will also need replacements for second baseman Courtney King, a four-year starter and all-star; first baseman Lauren Kolodziej; third baseman Jen Saravia; third baseman and outfielder Cierra Campbell; and designated player Ashley Laramie, who is playing at Lasell College in Newton.Although he doesn’t have big numbers returning, he has a good start with the two Deans and Barker. Kristen Dean hit around .450 last year, despite missing six or seven games with pneumonia.”I’m expecting a lot from her with the bat this year,” Warren said. “She had a great year last year.”Afton Dean is a two-time Northeastern Conference All-Star. She hit .393 last year with 20 runs scored and 13 RBI. She’s also solid at short with a .950 fielding percentage. Barker gives the Rams a strong presence behind the plate. Last summer she filled in as catcher in the Agganis All-Star softball game (despite being a junior) and was named her team’s MVP for the game.Warren has several players returning who saw decent playing time, including Amanda Stevens and Courtney Sullivan. Sullivan can slap bunt and Stevens had some big hits off the bench, Warren said.Some other players who could help out are outfielder and slapper Jill Adams and Katie Fitzgerald, another slap bunter with good speed. She can play the infield or outfield. Both are juniors. Sophomore Fallon Gaudet, a transfer from St. Mary’s, could help the Rams out in either the infield or outfield. Juniors Ashley Scalfani and Katie Sonia came up at the end of last year and could find their way into the lineup.Warren said he had 57 players at tryouts the last two days, which allows for both junior varsity and freshman teams. He had 23-24 freshmen, one of them being Hannah Byrne, who made the varsity basketball team this winter.”She’s very talented,” Warren said, adding she’ll be working out with the older players.Byrne and everyone else vying for a spot on the varsity will have plenty of opportunities to prove themselves prior to the start of the season. Warren had 15 scrimmages set up, with six of them taking place next weekend, when the team travels to the Cape for games on Saturday and Sunday..”The scrimmages will let us know where we stand this year,” Warren said.Warren’s coaching staff includes varsity assistants Oliver Toomey and Lisa Newhall, junior varsity coaches Lauren (Abernathy) Phelps and Alison Fila, and freshman coach Nicole Oak.