Teammates converge on Warren’s Alanna Warrior, center, after her two-out, two-strike, two-run single gave Warren’s softball team a 7-6 Region 5 win over visiting General McLane last season. Photo courtesy of Mark Evans

Warren’s softball team is young, but hungry for a title.

“I’m extremely happy with our numbers,” said Warren coach Carissa Stuart. “We do have a young roster with 14 of our 18 players being sophomores and freshmen, but they also bring a lot of good talent to the team.

“The D10 (championship) game is what we’re striving for, but we’re not focusing too much on the end of the year right now,” she said. “Mentally, they need to show up every day and give effort. They need to learn that results come with working hard. Come into practice each day with a goal to get better.

“My goal right off the bat is to get the fundamentals down again,” said coach Stuart, whose Dragons were 4-5 a season ago before an injury to all-region pitcher Alana Stuart. “If that means we work on throwing for a half hour, we do it. We break it down and drill it. If you can’t throw and catch, then you won’t win games. One thing that I’ve learned is that you have to keep them engaged in practices. Keep them moving, keep them thinking. It creates energy and they perform better.”

Warren finished 5-13, losing eight of nine after its pitcher’s season-ending injury. Returning players who made a big impact include Stuart, Lily Devore, Emma Gray and Alanna Warrior. “Although all the girls last year stepped up in big ways to get us through the season,” said Coach Stuart. “Alana’s ready to go; she’s looking forward to having a great season. We’re going to use her wisely this year and let others step in and give her some relief when needed.

“We’re a very young team,” she said. “We have two seniors, two juniors, seven sophomores, and seven freshmen. The infield is looking solid. Malysia Sorensen (middle infield) and Alexis Jones (first base and catcher), both freshmen, bring a great amount of talent. Madison Cornman has worked her way into third base, while Alanna Warrior put in a lot of time this summer and is a much-improved catcher. Alana Stuart will command the mound for the majority of the time. Seniors Lily Devore and Natasha Ferry will be in the outfield along with the possibility of sophomore Danika Abbey, freshmen Peyton Hagg, Olivia Romanosky and Alannah Garza. We’re still trying to figure out what works best for us.”

The roster also includes Alexis Stec, Riley Cull, Braidin Stewart, Sophia Fromknecht and Sydney Barr.

“(Our) short-term goal is to try to get as prepared as possible for an outside sport while practicing indoors,” said Coach Stuart, “which means making the most of our time together each day. (Our) long-term goal is making it all pay off. I would love to see this program get back into the D10 championship game. It’s been too long and I believe we have the right girls with the right focus to make it happen.”

Region opponents include General McLane, Erie High, Meadville, McDowell, Cathedral Prep, and Conneaut.

“We’re going to have to come into each one of these games with the right mentality to win,” said Coach Stuart. “They’re all talented and well-coached, but then again so are we.”

Stuart is assisted by Jeff Irwin, and volunteer coaches Drew Gray and Brian Ferry.

“There’s a lot of new players this year, so I’m still learning what I can expect of them at the moment,” said Coach Stuart. “I can see Madison Cornman having a much-improved year and I think Natasha Ferry will have herself a good year as well. With not playing games yet, I can’t say anything is set in stone. It will come down to who performs most consistently. “Strength in numbers is what I’m happy about this year,” she said. “Practice plans are so much easier when you have more to work with. Plus, it’s going to push them to having to keep proving themselves. Our weakness right now is truly just not being able to get outside for practices. We need to get back to playing at game-speed, making decisions and executing under pressure. The girls are excited to be at practice and they’re enjoying their time together. We’ve made great progress over the last few weeks and it’s, in most part, due to that reason.”