Lady Tigers season starts with non-conference games

The Mountain Home Lady Tigers open their 2015 softball season this week with a pair of non-conference games at home.

Lady Tigers coach Ron Nicolosi reflected on the great turnout for this year's season.

"We started out with 33 (for varsity and junior varsity)," the coach said. "We had some that decided not to come out. Unfortunately, we had to cut three this year, which we have never done before. But we have to look out for the safety of the girls, and that, obviously, becomes more of a concern than anything else."

The Lady Tigers will field two very solid teams this year, Nicolosi said.

"We have some young girls that came in that are definitely going to help the program," the coach said. "They'll be names that you'll hear about as the future goes on over the next few years. So we've got some really good young ones, we've got some very good experienced ones returning and our optimism is very high."

Nicolosi likes the experience he has back on this year's squad.

"Last year, we were just a little away," he said. "Every game, we were in it for a little bit, and we always had that 'one inning,' and I'm not sure what causes that. But this year, we've got good returners with some experience coming back."

McKenna Lewis will anchor the team in the circle with Taylor Reed and Maehan Pomerantz representing two of the team's top offensive threats.

"I expect that again from them this year," the coach said. "Then we've got some young girls coming up that will fill in real nicely."

With the 4A Southern Idaho Conference moving from nine teams last year to six this year, Nicolosi sees the conference remainining one of the toughest in the state.

"Kuna's got Arizana coming back, and she's a very good pitcher. But this is a conference, that, if you do very well, you should do very well at state."

By far, Mountain Home is in the best conference in the state, the coach added.

"We see the best pitching in my opinion, and these girls get challenged every game," he said. "No game is easy in this conference. You've got to go out and play."

The Lady Tigers hosted a Jamboree on Saturday with Borah, Wood River and Emmett. They open their season Thursday with a doubleheader at 2 p.m. against Elko, Nev. They host Borah in a single game at 5 p.m. Friday.

"All of our games in March are at home, so we encourage our fans to come out and see these girls and support them," the coach said.

Lady Tigers softball supporters, including local businesses, helped build a new field this year for the team, including a fence around the field.

Meanwhile, the local Rotary Club donated $10,000 to help the team put in a concession stand and press box.

"The community has come out tremendously for the girls," Nicolosi said. "We can't say thank you enough. We really appreciate it."

The Lady Tigers will have a home they can call home, "so we hope everyone will come out and support the girls and help them out," the coach added. "We're going to see some exciting softball this year out of these great athletes that we do have."