Members of the Fairbanks varsity softball squad are from left, front row, Mackenzie Lester, Anna Higbee, Cami Renicker, Brynne Stanley and Ashtynne Stanley; second row, Lindsey Smith, Harley Edwards, Hailey Dee, Gracie Pyers, Julia Cheney and Sierra Pfarr; back row, assistant coaches Randy Rausch and Sara Shaffer, Anna Muller, Claudia Mueller, Helena Lorenz, Sarah Writesel, Danielle Hoover and head coach Amy Sines. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Fairbanks’ varsity softball team has three lettermen returning for the 2021 season.
Those veterans include pitcher Julia Cheney, catcher Anna Higbee and shortstop Gracie Pyers.
Cheney posted a 6-6 record with 26 strikeouts during the 2019 campaign.
Higbee hit .353 with 16 stolen bases.
Pyers finished 2019 with a .266 batting average.
The Lady Panthers saw their 2020 season canceled due to coronavirus.
Newcomers to the team include Hailey Dee (first base and pitcher), Sarah Writesel (first base and pitcher), Brynne Stanley (third base) and Sierra Pfarr (outfield).
Head coach Amy Sines feels her team will be able to put runs on the scoreboard.
“Offensively, we are strong,” she said. “Hopefully, we can get a lot of girls on base and be able to move them around and score runs.”
An area of concern is the team’s youth.
“We are very young this year with only one senior (Cheney),” said the coach.
With that in mind, Sines has some concerns about her squad’s defense.
“We will need to make sure we play tough with minimal errors to stay in some games.
“We do have three pitchers (Cheney, Dee and Writesel) who will work nicely together and who can keep opposing teams off-balance.”
Sines said the FHS squad has one main goal in the midst of COVID-19.
“Our first goal is to have a season,” she said. “We want to be able to keep our girls healthy and play ball.”
The Lady Panthers came off virus quarantine on Sunday, the day before their first scheduled game of the season.
They missed 10 days of workouts due to COVID-19.
Fairbanks always hopes to be at the top of the Ohio Heritage Conference.
The Lady Panthers (who were 11-12 overall in 2019) finished with a 6-6 mark in the North Division of the circuit.
“We want to be competitive in the OHC,” said Sines.
and go deep into the district tournament,” said Sines.
“Without having a season last year, it’s hard to remember who graduated from certain schools and what top players are still around,” she said.
“We know all the schools on our side of the conference are always tough,” said the coach. “That’s especially true with Mechanicsburg, West Liberty-Salem and West Jefferson.
“With most of our players being so young, a big priority is also to develop those athletes in order to continue to be competitive in the future.”