5A SIC softball preview: The players to watch, teams to beat in Idaho’s toughest league
The 5A Southern Idaho Conference has ruled the state’s high school softball scene for years.
A team from the Treasure Valley-based league has won the 5A state championship each of the past seven years. That includes Skyview, which had to win a play-in game just to qualify for state last year, proving just how deep the league remains.
So who are the top contenders this season?
We surveyed the league’s coaches to find out. These were their answers.
THE FAVORITE
SKYVIEW
Last season: 20-11, 7-8 5A SIC
Coach: Tim Souza, third season
Players to watch: Delaney Keith, sr., SS; Summer Makinster, sr., C/1B; Taylor Brewer, sr., P/OF; Lily Justesen, sr., P/UTIL
The Hawks slugged their way to a surprise state title last season. But with nine returning starters, no one is overlooking Skyview this time.
A stacked lineup returns nearly entirely intact with the loss of just one senior. Keith, the reigning Gatorade Player of the Year, put up gaudy numbers a year ago — .677 batting average, 19 home runs, 77 RBIs, 1.350 slugging percentage. Expect more of the same from the Coastal Carolina signee who can change any game with a single swing.
The Hawks’ lineup provides no reprieve with Makinster (.429, 13 home runs, 41 RBIs), Justesen (.439, nine home runs, 40 RBIs) and Analisa Zamora (.420, 13 home runs, 40 RBIs) as just a few in a long line of dangerous threats.
But what’s most frightening is the senior-heavy lineup still feels like it has plenty left to prove, Souza said.
THE CONTENDERS
TIMBERLINE
Last season: 17-10-1, 11-4 5A SIC
Coach: Todd Amundson, fourth season
Players to watch: Amber Thornton, sr., P; Kellyanne Coleman, sr., CF; Alyssa Wilcox, jr., OF; Ashlyn Graklanoff, fr., SS
The Wolves snapped a seven-year state tournament drought last season. Now, with five returning starters, they will try to contend for their first district title in 13 years.
Pitching remains the Wolves’ strength. Boise State signee Amber Thornton stands as one of the state’s top pitchers. The co-5A SIC Player of the Year went 15-4 with a 2.10 ERA and three no-hitters last year. But Timberline also has plenty of other arms capable of eating up innings and conserving Thornton for key matchups.
The graduation of Tara Dittman leaves a massive hole in the lineup. Graklanoff moves into her position at shortstop. But Amundson said the Wolves will need to replace her offensive production as a team.
OWYHEE
Last season: 0-0, 0-0 5A SIC
Coach: Tess Martin, first season
Players to watch: Brooklyn Schneidt, jr., 3B/SS/UTIL; Mantha Hatzenbeller, so., P/UTIL; Rylie Haith, so., OF
When the newest West Ada high school opened this year, it drew players from the talent-rich boundaries of Rocky Mountain, Eagle and Meridian. So many expect the Storm to compete right away.
Hatzenbeller stands as a prime example of the boundary benefits. She hit .471 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs in a freshman season at Rocky Mountain that earned her first-team all-conference honors. She’ll add pitching duties this season, making her a two-way threat.
But molding players from several different programs into one cohesive unit is never guaranteed. Martin said she’s working on installing Owyhee’s own standards in order to get everyone on the same page.
THE DARK HORSES
EAGLE
Last season: 20-10, 10-5 5A SIC
Coach: Nicole Rollins, seventh season
Players to watch: Sydney Groves, sr., 3B; Lizzy Tommasini, jr., P/OF; Hayleigh Oliver, so., OF/SS; Libby Dennis, sr., P/INF
The perennial power finds itself in an unusual position looking up in the preseason rankings. But don’t write off the Mustangs just yet.
Groves remains one of the most feared hitters in the state. The Boise State signee put up monster numbers last year, hitting .479 with 17 home runs, 53 RBIs and a 1.170 slugging percentage. Expect more of the same, if anyone dares to pitch to her.
Oliver (.442, 10 HRs, 37 RBIs) adds another big bat and first-team all-conference selection to the lineup. And the pitching duo of Tommasini and Dennis, who missed last season with surgery, gives the Mustangs the tools to contend again.
CAPITAL
Last season: 9-12-1, 4-10 5A SIC
Coach: Shane Alder, 16th season
Players to watch: Allie Laufenburger, sr., P/SS; Carly Turpen, sr., 2B; Grace Wontorcik, sr., UTIL; Penny-Lew Barnett, jr., P/3B
After paying its dues with a youth movement, the Eagles eye their first state tournament berth since 2012 with a veteran-heavy lineup. Six starters return from a year ago, including four-year starters in Laufenburger and Turpen, and three-year starters in Wontorcik and Barnett.
Barnett headlines the group as a first-team all-conference pitcher after going 6-9 with a 1.86 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 98 innings last season. She’s also dangerous at the plate, hitting .412 with five home runs and 26 RBIs.
She’ll team with Wontorcik (.476, two HRs, 13 RBIs), Laufenburger (.422, 20 RBIs) and Turpen (.382, four HRs, 15 RBIs) to form the heart of Capital’s best lineup in years.
BORAH
Last season: 16-13, 6-8 5A SIC
Coach: Eric Zinn, second season
Players to watch: Megan Meracle, so., P; Keli Kessel, sr., SS; Maggie Sawyer, sr., CF; Halle Fizer, so., 2B
The young Lions took the league by storm last year. Picked ninth in the preseason coaches’ poll, Borah started 8-2 before falling one win shy of its first state tournament berth since 2009.
Now the Lions bring back eight starters looking to get over the hump. Meracle tops the list after a breakout freshman campaign where she earned second-team all-conference honors with a 2.93 ERA and 233 strikeouts. She’s only gotten stronger, Zinn said.
A strong and versatile defense backs her up. And Kessel (.481, five home runs) and Sawyer (.500) gives the Lions two game-changing hitters to turn to.
MOUNTAIN VIEW
Last season: 20-11, 9-5 5A SIC
Coach: Destiny Turner, second season
Players to watch: Carly Boisvert, sr., P; Jazmyn Jenkins, sr., UTIL; Chloe Robinson, sr., OF
The Mavericks brought home a second-place trophy from district and a third-place trophy from state a year ago. But key graduation losses have them on the outside looking in to start the season.
Pitching always remains key, and Mountain View can build around a reliable starter in Boisvert. She racked up 20 wins and 172 strikeouts a year ago while posting a 3.01 ERA. And the Mavericks have a couple key hitters returning in Jenkins (.430, nine home runs) and Robinson (.367, 16 stolen bases) as they try to replace the production holes left by Gracie Tentinger and Riley McGrath.
THE UNDERDOGS
KUNA
Last season: 19-6, 10-4 5A SIC
Coach: Joe Kleffner, 22nd season
Players to watch: Tailia Jenkins, jr., C; Kamryn Ham, jr., CF; Brylin Field, jr., SS; Alianna Giddings, sr., 3B
The Kavemen proved they could compete at the 5A level last season, finishing third in the regular season before going two-and-out at district.
Five starters return looking to make up for that early start to summer. Kuna figures to remain dangerous at the plate after averaging 10 runs per game. Jenkins (.423), Ham (.416) and Giddings (.405, nine home runs) all topped the .400 mark last year and form the heart of the lineup again.
But Kleffner said Kuna will have to clean up its defense. Too many costly and untimely errors can sink even the most dominant lineup, as the Kavemen learned last year.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN
Last season: 28-3, 14-1 5A SIC
Coach: Brian White, 11th season
Players to watch: Ella Gridley, sr., OF; Jasmine Davis, sr., 3B
The reigning district champ and state runner-up hits the reset button after losing eight seniors and with just two returning starters.
Gridley headlines the group. She was hitting .512 last season before blowing out her ACL. The Grizzlies will rely on the leadoff hitter with four years of varsity experience as a veteran leader and a tablesetter.
White said he has a flexible group full of multi-position players. That allows him to mix and match early on as the Grizzlies adjust to the varsity level on the fly.
CENTENNIAL
Last season: 5-20, 3-11 5A SIC
Coach: Scott McFarland, fifth season
Players to watch: Grace Diffin, sr., P; Carly Reyes Mims, so., SS; Karis Mansfield, so., 1B/3B
The off-season was not kind to the Patriots. They lost eight varsity players to graduation or transfer, leaving them with just three returning starters.
Diffin returns as the rock in the pitcher’s circle though. The three-year varsity starter has led Centennial through all its ups and downs. She’ll team with Reyes Mims, who hit .351 as a freshman, to form the core of Centennial’s lineup offensive and defensively.
McFarland said he has a tight-knit group. But varsity experience remains in short supply.
MERIDIAN
Last season: 4-19, 3-12 5A SIC
Coach: Thomas Pinkley, 17th season
Players to watch: Cora Serafine, sr., P; Carson Irwin, sr., C; Athena Little, fr., P/UTIL; Penelope Klinger, fr., OF
The rebuilding project continues at Meridian with just three returning starters from a squad that finished 10th out of 11 teams last year.
Pinkley said the Warriors will be strong defensively, forcing opponents to earn their opportunities. Serafine takes over as the primary option in the pitcher’s circle after an up-and-down junior year. And look for Little to make an impact in the circle too as a freshman.
But with such a young roster, Pinkley warned progress might be slow.
BOISE
Last season: 4-17, 3-12 5A SIC
Coach: Roger Birt, third season
Players to watch: Erika Gustafson, sr., P/CF; Regan Birt, sr., 1B; Lucy Elliot, so., LF; Brooklyn Arriola, sr., SS
The Brave bring back seven starters as the former state power seeks to climb back from the bottom of the 5A SIC.
Putting up runs shouldn’t pose a problem with all that experience. Gustafson (.398), Elliott (.386), Arriola (.298) and Birt (.292) all proved themselves as potent hitters a year ago.
Run prevention will have to improve though. Boise allowed 17.4 runs per game last season, by far the most in the league. But Roger Birt said an off-season spent working on defense and developing more pitching depth should pay off.
