Lady Tigers to face Lady Bulldogs during 2012 debut

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Mountain Home Lady Tigers open their 2012 softball season next Tuesday at home against Nampa High School.

The Lady Tigers lost just one player to graduation from last year's squad, which finished 17-9 overall.

Mountain Home softball coach Chris Asbury admits he's looking for a great year of Lady Tiger softball.

"We lost just Rachel (Warila) to graduation, and we have some work to do in the outfield to replace some of that," the coach said. "Our infield is pretty intact for the most part, and our battery is still what it was last year. So we're fairly intact as a squad."

Seniors on the squad this year include Courtney Christiansen, Madison Siefferman and Krissy Elliott. Christiansen led the team last year at the plate, hitting .476, with 34 RBI, nine doubles, six triples and three home runs. Siefferman led the team in hits with 42, and hit. 462, with 25 RBI, six doubles and four triples. Meanwhile, Elliott batted .349, with 19 RBI, four doubles and three triples.

Sophomores coming back with positive stats for the Lady Tigers include pitcher Heather Adams, who went 17-6, with a 4.48 E.R.A.; Morgan Vivier, who hit .396 with two doubles; and Madi Karst, who hit .342, with 25 RBI, two doubles and a triple.

After back-to-back state softball titles in 2009 and 2010, the Lady Tigers failed to make state last year. Meanwhile, each of the three District III teams all placed at state, with Emmett winning it, Columbia taking second and Skyview finishing fourth.

Asbury agrees the conference race will be competitive this season.

"It's a fairly young conference overall," the coach said. "Then when you throw in Caldwell coming down, I know they struggled at the 5A level, but that can be trouble for us. Bishop Kelly was up and coming last year; they knocked off some of the top teams, and they're getting older."

Meanwhile Emmett's coach Mel Brown "does a great job up at Emmett, and they're the defending state champions," Asbury said. "I guess if we want another one, we go through them for it. But I like what we have out, and I think we're making good progress, and that's our ultimate goal, to put another (state championship) banner in the gym."

Following their season opener, the Lady Tigers travel to Caldwell High School on March 15 with a 5 p.m. game time.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: