On a hot, sunny Tuesday afternoon the Centreville Academy fast-pitch softball team was taking batting practice, and lots of it.

The three-time defending MPSA Class AA champions start their season Thursday against Brookhaven Academy, and until then their focus will be on hitting.

&uot;Hitting’s always our weakness,&uot; senior second baseman Ash Brashier said.

Fortunately for the Lady Tigers, they should be able to balance that offensive weakness with solid defense, better team speed and the formidable presence of senior pitcher Kendall Madsen. Those strengths are why Centreville may be the favorite to repeat as state champions once again.

Brashier, Madsen and senior center fielder Kelly Simpson should form the backbone of the team this year. All three started on each of the Tigers’ championship squads and will look to close out their high school careers with one more title.

&uot;It was very exciting winning three. My senior year, I’d love to win four,&uot; Madsen said.

The team lost four seniors from last year’s team including two starters, first baseman Jenae Jackson and third baseman Misty Stelly. Jackson, who will play basketball at Southern Miss this year, and Stelly were two of the Tigers’ best hitters. The team also lost head coach Kenny Jackson, who left the team in the capable hands of Mark Mann, an assistant coach with the Tigers last year.

Mann jokes about the expectations created by his predecessor Kenny Jackson’s success.

&uot;(There is) no pressure,&uot; Mann said. &uot;I’m just following three in a row. But I’m excited about it. Who wouldn’t be coming into a program like this?&uot;

Mann said his priorities in practice have been finding a second pitcher to complement Madsen and finding the right chemistry, a process that will likely continue into the first several games of the season.

&uot;We have a pretty good returning group,&uot; Mann said. &uot;Of course, in this game pitching is the name of the game, and right now I have one experienced pitcher.&uot;

That pitcher is Madsen, who will have to be at her best if the Tigers are to gain a fourth consecutive championship. Madsen uses her fastball and changeup to keep hitters off balance and also added a riseball to her pitching repertoire for this season.

Madsen said she wants to strike more batters out this year.

&uot;Kendall will win a lot of games for us on the defensive side,&uot; Simpson said.

Junior Becky Minor and sophomore Haley Bowser are the top candidates to be the team’s second starting pitcher, a position that will be particularly important in tournament situations when the team may play as many as six games in one day.

The Tigers will start the season Thursday against Brookhaven and then head to a tournament at Copiah Academy this weekend. Mann said he expects winning a fourth state championship to be more difficult than the first three were.

&uot;We’re looking to go again. We don’t just want to get to the playoffs, we want to win when we get there,&uot; Mann said. &uot;They climbed the mountain in 2001 and stayed there in 2002 and 2003. Every year it gets tougher.&uot;

Wilkinson Christian

WOODVILLE &045; First-year head coach Leslie Dilworth didn’t waste much time before jumping into her new job. The former Nicholls State standout and head coach at Baker (La.) High School went straight to work in July with a young Lady Rams squad she is convinced has big-time potential.

Right now, however, it’s a matter of getting everyone in the right position. The Lady Rams need a pitcher following the graduation of Merideth Fletcher and some key position players.

&uot;It’s definitely going to be a rebuilding year,&uot; said Dilworth who coached Baker to a state runner-up finish in 1998. &uot;I think they lost some key players. I’m excited about it. It’s definitely going to be a challenge. I’ll teach them the best I can.

&uot;I definitely have some kids with some talent. I just have to catch them up with what they haven’t learned before.&uot;

Dilworth so far has been trying out three pitchers in practice, and each has progressed in the role. Senior Erin Ashley has thrown a good bit along with junior Lil Netterville and freshman Abby McDuff.

Ashley has been limited in her work throwing while she recovers from a stress fracture in her ankle, and Dilworth is high on McDuff’s potential.

&uot;Erin is a big kid, but she’s got that stress fracture right now,&uot; Dilworth said. &uot;I don’t want to push her. Abby is going to be a good pitcher, and after watching them all I think I’ll focus on her and Lil because of Erin’s ankle. If I can get Abby’s confidence up, at the end of the season, I think it’ll come together.&uot;

Adam Daigle

contributed to this report.