Staff file photo / Neel Madhavan. Poland senior Leanne Williams makes contact with a pitch during a Division III playoff game last season.

POLAND — The last time the Poland softball team took the field for a game, it ended in heartbreak. In the district final last May, the Bulldogs, who led 5-3 at one point, fell to South Range 6-5 on a walk-off Raiders single in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“We were right there. It could have gone either way. A play here, a play there,” Poland head coach Jim Serich said.

Little mistakes, such as not catching a fly ball in foul territory that would have ended an inning, ultimately cost Poland a district title. But with all but a few players returning, Serich is confident Poland, which finished 16-9 in 2023, will yet again be one of the best teams in the area.

“I think we’re in a really good place. It’s gonna be a fun year. We’re going to be very competitive,” Serich said. “[I’m] looking at that first week of the season and can’t wait to get going. I think we’re in a really good place, and they’re ready to go.”

To make it back to the district final, Poland will rely on the promising combination of experience and youth. The team only has two seniors — shortstop Mary Brant and first baseman Leanne Williams — but even some of the youngest members of the team have gained valuable experience at the varsity level.

Sophomore Elliana Thompson will begin the season at shortstop, filling in for Brant, who is still recovering from a foot injury she sustained during a soccer match in the fall and eventually ended her basketball season.

While Serich said Thompson will return to third base once Brant is fully healthy, he marveled at how well the talented sophomore has fared in the preseason.

“We’ve had three scrimmages and haven’t missed a beat at short,” Serich said. “Mary’s a 1A; Eliana is a one. She’s only in the 10th grade. She’ll be that 1A for two years after this year, but at third, she’s a wall. So that left side of that infield is as good as anybody’s got.”

Brant, a Robert Morris signee, is the undisputed star of Poland’s lineup. She has started each of her three seasons at shortstop and lit up opposing pitchers last season, batting a team-high .573 average, .611 OBP and 1.709 OPS.

Serich said he expects Brant to make her season debut sometime in the next few weeks, and depending on how much lateral movement she is comfortable with, he said Brant may start at third base or as the team’s designated hitter as she continues to recover fully.

Williams and junior Kylie Hudran round out the infield at first and second, respectively. Both have extensive experience, having started at their respective positions since they were each freshmen. Williams batted .403 as a junior, while Hudran made a giant leap at the plate in her sophomore year to hit .366.

Sophomore catcher Leanna Boccieri, like Thompson, is expected to contribute massively at the plate after a strong freshman season. Boccieri finished the season with the team’s second-highest average (.416) and OBP (.489), only behind Brant.

In addition to batting fifth in the lineup when Brant is healthy, Olivia Horn, a left-handed junior, will get the bulk of the starts in the circle for Poland.

“We’re gonna lean on her big time, and we know she’s up to the task,” Serich said. “She’ll keep us in every game. Like I told her, ‘Liv, you don’t have to strike out 10 or 12 a game. You’ve got a great defense behind you. All you have to do is manage the game in front of you. If you hold teams to three runs or less every game, we’re going to be in every game.'”

Serich has constructed a difficult schedule for his team this season; in addition to the typically tough Northeast-8 and other local opponents, the Bulldogs are set to play in the Mid-Ohio Spring Classic in April against the likes of Division I regional semifinalist Hilliard Bradley, Division III state semifinalist Johnstown-Monroe and two-time defending Division IV state champion Strasburg-Franklin.

“The schedule I put in front of them is really tough,” Serich said. “We’re a D3 school and we play eight or nine D1 schools. That’s OK, I want to challenge them.”

Poland has numerous goals it would like to accomplish this season, with a district title being near the top. Poland last won a district championship in 2019, when it reached the state semifinals, but winning the Northeast-8 remains at the top of Serich’s priorities.

“Our primary goal is always to win the league, win a section, win a district. And then when you get to regionals, I’ve always told them, it’s like rolling dice,” Serich said. “You never know what you’re gonna get in the regional, but it’s a two-game shootout.”

Poland opens its season with a two-game series against Niles. The Bulldogs will travel to face the Red Dragons on Monday, before playing Niles at home on Tuesday.

Have an interesting story? Contact Preston Byers by email at pbyers@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @PresByers.