Journal-News.com

An inexperienced Big Blue squad rode the veteran arm of Jennifer McKee all the way to the state tournament last year. This year, the roles are reversed with an experienced lineup surrounding a brand-new pitcher.

Forecast

Junior Ashley Boyd steps into the circle in a bid to become the latest in a long line of successful Hamilton pitchers. Boyd made five appearances last year, going 1-0 with one save and an 0.54 ERA while striking out 17 batters in 13 innings.

Offensively, Hamilton put plenty of runners on base in 2006. The team just had trouble moving them around and getting them in. Of course, a lot of that had to do with the cache of talented arms found in the Greater Miami Conference alone and Southwest Ohio in general.

With the likes of Lindsay Bodeker, Mindy Breitholle and Kat Stetz all having graduated, plus the fact that almost the entire Big Blue lineup has at least one year's worth of varsity experience, Hamilton is hoping for a big year offensively.

Keep an eye on

Rachel LeMaster - Junior catcher led the team with 18 RBIs last year, and her . 279 average, 29 hits and three home runs are tops among returning players.

Tara Bastin - Junior is a three-year starter at third base. She had 18 hits and eight RBIs last year.

Rachel Cox - Junior had 10 RBIs and a team-high 11 stolen bases last year.

Katie Fuller - Sophomore is a returning starter at second base.

Susan Wendland - Senior returns at first base to round out solid infield.

Key games

Hamilton at Lakota West, 3/27 - Early test for pair of defending state semifinalists.

Hamilton at Worth Tournament, 3/30 - Talent-rich, two-day event in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Hamilton at Fairfield, 4/5 - GMC rivals went extra innings to decide last year's regional championship.

Hamilton at Ramball Invitational, Ross, 4/28 - A mini-Butler County tournament against Edgewood, Badin and D-II juggernaut Ross.

Quotable

"The pitching has to come around and be good, and I have every confidence that it will. The key will be if we can consistently put runners on and consistently score runs.

"Most of these juniors have a year of experience that they didn't have last year, so hopefully that will carry over and help the offense."

— Coach Steve Heckman

Last season

24-7 overall, 14-4 GMC