TURNER — They don’t need a history lesson.

The members of the Leavitt softball team are aware of the recent success of defending Class A state champions. And, should they forget, there certainly are a number of people who might remind them. Since 1995, the Class A state title holders have repeated.

So not only do the Hornets bring last year’s success with them this season, they have the added incentive and pressure of keeping that history going.

“It’s motivation, I think,” said senior catcher Kristen Healy. “We all think it would be awesome. I think a lot of people might feel nervous about the pressure of being the defending state champions, but I think we have the heart to do it.”

Not so fast though. The Hornets are not thinking about June this far ahead. Leavitt has a different lineup than last year.

“We’ve got a big bull’s-eye on us, that’s for sure,” said Leavitt coach Pete Higgins. “It’s always more difficult defending than it is achieving, I think.”

In a league that features a number of teams rebuilding significant parts of their roster, the Hornets face a similar task, but Leavitt still has the nucleus of its team together. Pitcher Sam St. Hilaire, a junior, returns after a stellar season. Seniors Healy and first baseman Gretchen Conn and outfielders junior Laura Pratt and senior Amy Myrand are back.

“They’ve got to lead by example,” said Higgins of his veterans. “Hopefully, the others will learn as we go along. “

Higgins has a handful of freshmen stepping into larger roles. With the graduation of four seniors, including all-star shortstop Darlene Perry and catcher Sarah Sennett, the Hornets had the bulk of their team back. Still, Lindsey Sierra was lost to a knee injury and other players either moved out of state or didn’t return.

“We kind of took a hit,” said Higgins. “There were some kids that were going to be in some spots. If we had everybody back we were supposed to, I’d say that we’re really going to be something else. We’re going to be okay, but people shouldn’t get the wrong idea that because we had a lot of underclassmen last year, that they’re all back and playing. That’s not happening. It’s just we’ve got a lot of question marks that need answering. We’ve got four or five returning starters. I expected to have a solid seven starters.”

Still, the Hornets feel it will be a matter of time before things come together. They expect to put themselves in position to win when it matters — exactly like they did a year ago.

“I think it happened last year mostly because of unity,” said Conn. “When we were playing and winning all those games, it seemed like we were playing softball as one. This year, we’ll have some losses for sure, but the chemistry is still there.”

And the talent remains. St. Hilaire may further establish herself as one of the league’s top pitchers. Healy was a KVAC first-team all-star at third last year. Conn is an all-star caliber threat, defensively and offensive, at first base. Pratt and Myrand are solid outfielders and contributed to the Hornets’ potent offensive attack that pounded its way to the state title, hitting Biddeford’s touted pitcher Sarah Conroy like it was batting practice.

“We’re pretty young, but we have a lot of potential, even the freshmen that are coming up,” said Healy, who will be joined by her sister Stephanie, a freshman shortstop. “The key thing for us will be to get along and work together and know how each of us will play.”

The veterans know their leadership will be crucial, but they also know there is plenty of experience to go around.

“We have a junior that’s a captain,” said Conn of St. Hilaire, who joins Healy and Conn as tri-captains. “I don’t know when that happened before. Every girl on this team could be a captain. There’s so much leadership and it really shows on the field.”

Bringing in some unproven players can be a detriment to some clubs, but the Hornets see this influx of newcomers as a positive. With last year’s success serving as motivation and a model, the Hornets feel they can be primed when the time comes.

“When it came time to the playoffs, we knew it was a big deal, and we wanted to do our best,” said Healy. “So we got ourselves pumped up and motivated. The people that we lost last year, they taught us stuff that we can carry into this season. Even though they’re gone, we have thing we learned from them that will carry into this season and help the team still.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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