Baker girls softball team kicks off GOL title defense

The defending Greater Oregon League-champion Baker girls softball team opened defense of its title today with a non-league game against Weiser, Idaho.

GOL coach of the year Al McCauley returns a half-dozen players from last season’s champions, including GOL player of the year senior Tara Talbott.

Talbott was a first team all-GOL infielder last season. She is joined by returning second-teamers Andrea Wilson at second base and Savannah Daly in center field.

“I told the girls that winning is the outcome of what happens on a daily basis,” he said. “And, we’re getting better every day.”

The Bulldogs (19-9 last season) advanced to the Class 4A quarterfinals before losing to top-ranked Marist.

Two other players from that team — Julia Vaughan and Shelby Colton — will miss the season due to knee surgeries during the off-season. Vaughan was a second-team GOL catcher last year. Colton came on during the season to anchor third base.

“Julia just got clearance to run and will help us on the bench,” McCauley said. “I haven’t talked to Shelby since her surgery.”

With Talbott and Wilson anchoring the middle of the infield defense, Daly in center field, and junior Becca Joseph catching the Bulldogs should be strong up the middle.

“Defensively we should be pretty solid,” McCauley said. “We have a pretty much veteran outfield, our middle infielders are veterans. We’ll be new on the corners and pitching.”

Joining Daly in the outfield will be seniors Ashley Vela and Ashley Shively.

Sophomores Tori Brown and Mackenzie Srack and freshman Darryn McCauley will see most of the pitching duties.

“Our young pitchers are developing daily,” McCauley said. “They’re getting better every day.”

Those pitchers will have to deal with an extended distance from the pitching circle to the plate this season.

Oregon and Florida are the only two states involved in an experiment where the pitchers will throw from 43 feet this season rather than the normal 40 feet.

“The added distance will have an effect on the conditioning of the pitchers,” McCauley said. “And it probably will make the games more offensively minded.”

McCauley said that since Oregon is the only Northwest state taking part in the experiment things will be different when Baker travels to Idaho for non-league games.

“When we go to Idaho we’ll throw from 40 feet, but when they come here it will be from 43 feet. About half our non-league games are with teams from Idaho,” he said.

The rest of the varsity roster consists of sophomores Aubree Shepherd, Shelby Prowell, Morgan Johnson and Laura Wilson, and freshman Jesse Stephens, a co-op player from Powder Valley. McCauley said those players will float between varsity and junior varsity.

McCauley said both Ontario and Mac-Hi lost their starting pitchers to graduation. La Grande returns Boo Chrisman in the circle.

“They’re all going to be a challenge,” he said of the GOL race. “There are so many little things to consider.”