Third-year Houlton coach Travis Gentle and his assistant, wife, Darcy Gentle, are looking to turn around his team’s 6-8 record from a year ago to make them playoff contenders this season.
“We fully expect to make the playoffs this year,” he said. “We have a good group of freshmen who we expect to contribute right away. We will be really focused on our defense this year as well as our pitching. Our offense should be good enough to manufacture runs this year.”
The Lady Shires’ key loss to graduation was Tanika Toby. The Houlton girls are going to rely on their youth and athletic ability to make their mark in Class C, as they field only one senior (Emma Gallop) and two juniors (Makayla McGuire and Abby Fore). The team will have five sophomores, Elizabeth Ward, Emma Peterson, Victoria Holmes, Mikayla Fitzpatrick and Morgan Grant and rounding out the lineup are freshmen Aspen Flewelling, Kristen Graham, Anessa Wilde, Tyra Gentle, Trynity Plummer, Alex Maker and Carolyn Mooers.
With a youthful team, Gentle is hoping to apply pressure to opponents on the base paths.
“I hope to steal a lot this year and really pressure the opposing team’s defense to make mistakes,” he said. “I believe our hitting and our pitching will be better overall.”
The starting rotation, which is subject to change, will set Graham as the “go-to”, with Peterson, Holmes, Fitzpatrick and Wilde rounding out the pitching staff. Peterson and Holmes combined for a 6-8 record last year.
Each year, Gentle stresses game situation awareness and this year he will do the same.
“I tell the girls on defense, you need to ask yourself two questions on every pitch; ‘What do I do if the ball is hit to me and what do I do if it is not hit to me?’ I try to instill in them that on every play every one has a job to do, whether the ball is hit to you or not. You need to be backing up a throw, backing up a teammate or covering a base. Some of them either have not been taught or just don’t really understand how much goes on with every defensive play. You don’t just stand there if the ball is not hit to you.”
The Lady Shires will have a challenging schedule and Gentle notes the teams to beat will include Calais, “who is always tough,” he said and Mattanawcook Academy. “Madawaska always seems to be worth points,” Gentle said and “we play Lee Academy for the first time this year.”
The Houlton girls’ team is rather young, but they look promising.
“I finally have some depth on the bench this year,” said Gentle. “I have a bunch of girls who can and will play multiple positions depending on the game situation. I believe everyone will contribute. I could easily have a different starting lineup for each game.”
