They’re not there yet, but with a strong core of veterans and some talented underclassmen in the mix, coach Deb Smith said her Pembroke softball team has the potential to be a legitimate threat in Class I this season.

PA, which features seven seniors and five juniors, opened the season on Friday, April 11, with a 10-3 home loss to St. Thomas Aquinas, but rebounded on Monday, April 14 to hold off upstart Bedford, 6-5.

Last season, the Spartans finished above .500 and reached the state quarterfinals. This year, a lot depends on the cohesiveness of the players on the diamond, said Smith.

“Like any year, our big goal is to make the tournament, but … right now we’re just trying to meld that good upperclassmen leadership with the younger folks coming in,” she said. “Once they learn what it takes to compete in Class I, which is very strong – and I mean playing solid defense, creating and taking advantage of opportunities on offense, and being aggressive with the bat and getting on base – if you’re doing all those things, we’ll start to click. And if we can get in the tournament, it’s a whole different world.”

Still, the team, like every other squad around the state, has spent almost the entire spring practicing inside, so mastering the aforementioned basics is still a work in progress, said Smith. “Right now, we’re just excited to be outside and playing games,” she said.

The 2008 Spartans are led by the offense of seniors Sam Boisvert and Katie Schofield, as well as junior Jen Poulin – the No. 3, 4 and 5 hitters.

Seniors Jill Boucher and Devin Cleary are in charge of getting on base in front of the big bats, while seniors Sam Beauchesne and Alyssa Mc- Queen, junior Mollie Griggs and freshman Marissa Letendre round out the starting lineup.

Cleary, called up late in the 2005 season as a nervous freshman, now is a key component to the 2008 squad and one of the team leaders, said Smith.

Defensively, Boisvert looks to improve upon her junior season, when she threw out three runners at third base, where Poulin defends the hot corner.

Boisvert, said Smith, is a strong leader, but is working on being more vocal from behind the plate.

Others likely to see playing time this season include senior Shannon Keeler, juniors Kaitlyn Moulton, Nicole Mason and Katie O’Connor, sophomore Ashley Kennedy, and freshmen Danielle McQueen and Haleigh Parker.

Kennedy, said Smith, came up late last year and contributed in the playoffs, while Moulton, a student of the game, missed the season with an injury, but stayed on as a manager, supported the team and returns eager to earn playing time.

Game notes
Against Bedford, Alyssa Mc- Queen pitched six and two-third innings to lock down the win, and her sister, Danielle, came in late to shut down the last batter and earn a save.

Poulin, arguably the team’s most explosive hitter, went 2-for- 4 with an RBI, as did Boisvert, Schofield, and Alyssa McQueen. Schofield hit a hard single up the middle in the seventh inning, which kept PA ahead and turned out to be the deciding run.

Letendre, who had been struggling, lined a sharp single up the middle in the sixth to earn an RBI as well.