Staff file photo / Joel Whetzel Boardman sophomore pitcher Tori Strines throws a pitch against Walsh Jesuit during last year’s district championship game in Massillon.

The Boardman Spartans softball team will look a lot different this season, but its goal remains the same.

Boardman finished last season with a 12-15 overall record and were fourth in the All-American Conference. The Spartans made an unexpected postseason run before ultimately losing 2-1 to Walsh Jesuit in a district championship game.

After the season, Boardman graduated 10 seniors, meaning the current roster at head coach Fred Mootz’s disposal will be almost completely new. But the Spartans are hopeful that their new starters will be able to produce.

“We’re kind of inexperienced at the varsity level,” Mootz said. “We have potentially five to six sophomores starting, so we’re fairly young… but I feel good about this core group of girls. Even though we have some youth and we’re inexperienced I feel like we’ll compete, and we’ll challenge in a tough conference.”

One concern facing Boardman is how its current team will jell early in the season. Many of the Spartans starters last year had been playing together throughout their high school careers. While Boardman has plenty of talented players, their lack of cohesion will take some time to get used to.

“It’s a completely different animal now,” Mootz said. “We have girls who, though they are in the same class, have not necessarily played at this level of softball together… I’m only bringing back two girls that started last year. I had an injured player in Natalie Davis who’s a senior this year who will be a pivotal part to our success.”

The two returning starters, sophomore pitcher Tori Strines and junior catcher Maddie Wymer, are expected to be important pieces in Boardman’s season. Strines and Wymer both played well for the Spartans in the playoffs. Boardman believes that the experience from last season will have been critical to the duos’ development as leaders of the team.

“It’s everything because they were so pivotal in that,” Mootz said. “Tori was unreal in the circle for us. She kept us in every game down the stretch to allow us to have a nice run… And I’ve said it again and again, your pitcher is generally only as good as your catcher, and Maddie, they were the best battery mates I’ve ever coached together… So, we’re going to rally around these two girls, even though one’s a junior and one’s a sophomore. It’s definitely important.”

Boardman believes its strongest facet is its pitching. The Spartans rotation will consist of Strines, Davis, and freshman Gabi Sferra. The rotation is deep and versatile.

“All three are kind of unique in their own style,” Mootz said. “In years past I generally didn’t have the opportunity to start a girl who threw hard and then bring a girl in who threw a little softer or vice versa, to use that as an advantage in some games where I didn’t have the depth. This year I have the depth, so I can kind of utilize that.”

With young players stepping into new roles and a pitching staff filled with talent, Boardman hopes to compete for a conference title and for postseason success once again. But Mootz emphasized that his team’s goal is to have its players prepared for whatever may be in front of them.

“(Our goal) is to prepare them not only for our run at the end, but also to prepare them if they want to play this game at the next level,” he said. “We want to win the league, obviously we want to compete for a district title, and after that, if you’re fortunate enough to be in that spot, you make a run at a state title.”