Staff file photo / Brian Yauger Ursuline’s Mia Opalick points to a fan in the stands after hitting a home run against Grand Valley last season. Opalick will be a key piece to Ursuline’s success this season.

The Ursuline Fighting Irish softball team has not forgotten how last season ended.

Ursuline finished the 2022 season with a 22-4 record and then went on to capture a district title with a 7-0 win over Rootstown. The Irish’s postseason run ended with a stunning 4-3 loss to Tuslaw in a game in which Ursuline led 3-2 in the bottom of the 13th inning.

The Irish graduated five players from last year’s team, but the players who have returned are motivated to find success again.

“Instead of practicing they’re just ready to play as a team,” Ursuline head coach Kristina Dugan said. “We have a lot of girls who feel like they have something to prove. We were heartbroken last year, and we have a lot of young girls stepping up into new roles as we graduated a lot of seniors. But I think everybody’s just ready and excited to be able to prove what they can do.”

One of the players who is ready to be a leader for the Irish is senior Mia Opalick. While Opalick will be leaned on as a member of Ursuline’s pitching rotation, her biggest impact will be made with her bat. Opalick hit nine home runs last year, tying the school’s single-season record. The Irish expect her to be a key part of their success.

“Obviously hitting is just where she shines,” Dugan said. “She’s just a powerful at bat. She’s a difference maker with what she brings to practice… She definitely has the ability to lead. We’re hoping she stays healthy and achieves some of the goals she set for herself. If she stays confident, she can be unstoppable.”

Along with Opalick, fellow senior Liza Barbato is expected to be a force for Ursuline. Barbato will be part of the Irish’s pitching rotation and her batting average last season was over .300. She will be another key senior for Ursuline.

“There’s certainly no one else like Liza,” Dugan said. “She has a great personality on and off the field, and I haven’t seen her swing as good as she is right now in the past four years. I’m just excited to see her shine this year.”

Opalick, Barbato, junior Lily Ditz and sophomore Kyleigh Golden make up the Irish’s pitching rotation. While Ursuline lost an important pitcher with the graduation of Paige Ogden, the Irish are confident in their depth at the position.

“If everybody stays healthy, I’m excited to have a pitching staff,” Dugan said. “We should have four pitchers who can potentially pitch in varsity. They’re all different ages and they’ll complement one another.”

Although they ultimately fell short, the Irish believe that they could have won a state title last season. Once games begins, Ursuline will leave last year in the past and strive for playoff success again this season. The Irish hope to make another push towards a state championship in 2023.

“Each of the girls writes down their own individual and team goals,” Dugan said. “We put all the team goals down together and then we discuss, mostly them, how we’re going to achieve them. If we want to win districts, what does that look like? How do we just win districts? Because obviously there were things we wanted to do last year that we didn’t. So how can they put in the work now to do that. We spend a lot of time (focusing) on that.”