Kats look to build on last year's success

The Columbia Falls softball team will have some powerful bats and a little bit of speed sprinkled in as it enters the 2012 season.

“We’ve got a good group of seniors,” coach Dave Kehr said last week.

They include Shaun Rowe, Niki Birky, Erika Nelson, Jaylynn Cantu, Madison Sandefer and Jordan LeFebvre. Rowe was the Kats’ starting pitcher most of the season last year and batted clean up.

Nelson excelled behind the plate as catcher, and Birky provided a big bat when the Kats needed it. Also returning is speedy Tori Price, who was the team’s leadoff batter in many games.

Kehr also has young talent in Tiffany Hummer and Carlee Brown. The team has good pitching depth, he noted. All told, nearly 30 girls tried out for the squad last week.

Last year, the girls went 19-7 overall and 3-2 at the state Class A tournament. But this season, the Kats will need all the talent they can get. Perennial powerhouse Frenchtown has joined the conference, and Polson and Libby are always tough. Polson won the state Class A title the past two years.

Whitefish could also be a surprise. The rival Lady Bulldogs were down last season, but they’re reporting good numbers of girls trying out for the team this year.

The Kats open play March 29 against the Bulldogs in a non-conference game at home. The girls will probably play on the revamped east fields this season. The field is in good shape though snows this week have made it soggy.

Last season was a tough year for softball — snows lingered well into April, and when it wasn’t snowing, it was usually cold, wet, windy or both.

Kehr has been head coach since 2002. He’s assisted by Kelly Stewart, Jessica Owens and Todd Trueblood. Stewart coaches the junior varsity team. Owens was a pitcher for the Kats. She graduated last year.