Get the usual solid and consistent pitching on the mound and when they’re on offence, use their speed to such a degree that the opposition never, ever has a chance to settle in.
Ideally, it’ll all lead to another season filled with winning for their young but extremely talented crew.
The Ice will put that theory to the test Sunday against Estevan in a doubleheader at Optimist Park, with games at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
“We have a very, very strong team,” Ice head coach Tom Montgomery said matter-of-factly.
“The two returning players from last year, Dayna Newberry and Peyton Mengel, they gel really well with the girls who moved up this year. And every girl on the team has played ‘A’ at some level one year or another, so we’re strong everywhere, top to bottom in the order, with no real holes in the pitching staff.”
Let’s talk about their hurlers first.
Mengel is expected to be one of the aces out of a crew that features an embarrassing amount of riches in the circle.
“Peyton is a fireballer, she’s probably one of the hardest throwers in the league and everybody else is more of Gregg Maddux-style pitcher,” Montgomery said. “So we have a ton of control pitchers and Peyton for that ‘just blow it by them’ speed.”
Marisa Montgomery, Kiarra Adrian, Taya Molde, Maddie Cruz and Newberry also have plenty of experience throwing against ‘A’ level opposition, giving the team plenty of options to go with.
“I probably have seven kids capable of pitching and winning any given night, and that’s a great problem to have,” Montgomery said.
Now let’s get to the speed side of things. Teams in the U14 division are allowed to steal home on passed balls, something the Ice plan to make liberal use of as they force their way into scoring position on a regular basis.
“When we were picking the teams, our thought process was we need girls who can get on base and can run, and every one of those girls can hit and get on base and they’re fast,” Montgomery said.
“The girls like to run, and they kind of laugh ‘what’s the point of giving us the steal signal’ and it’s like ‘no, you look for the ‘don’t steal’ signal,” he added with a laugh. “I think that’s going to be a big deciding piece for our girls, we’re going to get on base and we’re going to get in scoring position as fast as I can get them there.”
For the moment the focus will be on Regina Minor Softball League play, until further guidance with regards to tournaments is given.
‘We’re just happy to be out playing again and we’re looking forward to another great season,” Montgomery said.
