Softball: Mtn. Pointe aims for state tourney return

Mountain Pointe softball's season began with three bouts of bad news.

Two of the Pride's top anticipated pitchers -- Danielle Muniz and Jordan Creed -- were lost to season-ending injuries. A third, Melissa Lopez, moved away.

"Those are my pitchers and shortstops right there," said MP coach Melissa Wendell.

But Wendell's focusing on the players she does have, hoping to earn the Pride a return ticket to the state tournament.

"The top of our lineup will be pretty solid," Wendell said. "We've definitely got a good chemistry, we're working on a different chemistry than we had last year. We have a good, rounded group of girls that are all working hard and that enjoy being out here. It's a little different, but we're excited about it."

That top of the lineup is led by center fielder Holly Phillips, who may be the fastest girl on the team. Challenging her for that title is freshman Nyla Wambold, a natural outfielder who Wendell is converting to a shortstop to fill the gap left by Muniz and Lopez.

"She's got speed, she's just as fast as Holly," Wendell said, "so she's probably going to be our No. 2 in our lineup, which is great, because we can pair that with our (other) speed."

Ariel Cano will occupy the three-hole and Sienna Martinez will follow her. Both are returning starters.

"Then the rest," Wendell said, "we're working on."

"We have a lot of new players, so it's going to be an interesting season," Martinez added.

Johnson said she thought the experienced players, herself included, could help those newcomers along.

"I think we'll all kind of balance each other out," she said.

Sarah Pattengale is expected to be the team's top starter, and Chloe Cole will also see action in the circle, Wendell said.

Last season, the Pride made a late push at the state tournament, winning four-of-five games over a stretch in April. Once in as a No. 16 seed, MP gave No. 1 Basha a good game before eventually falling to the Bears, and then was eliminated by Gilbert.

"It gave them the experience to be in state and to understand that it's a whole season worth of work," Wendell said, "that even though we might falter a little bit in the beginning or in the middle, the end is just as important as anything else."