A season after winning the Putnam County Softball title for the first time in 14 years, the Greencastle Tiger Cubs enter the 2023 softball season with a wealth of experience and are looking to make a deep run this season under head coach Amy Coons. 

"We are fortunate to only have to replace one player as Raigan Chavez was our only senior last year. Raigan was an asset to our team, but luckily, we have people that are more than ready to step in to fill that role. We had a much more successful season last year than we have had in many years. The girls were playing so well together, and everything was really clicking," Coons told The Putnam County Post. 

The highlight was winning the county tournament, according to Coons. 

"Overall, for us coaches, just watching the girls play to the level we knew they were capable of and making it to the sectional championship game stands out the most. These girls have so much talent, and they finally started putting it together last season," Coons admitted. 

Coons said Greencastle will lean heavily on its seniors this season for production. 

Leading that unit is third baseman/catcher Sidney Lantzy, who committed to Mount St. Joseph. A season ago, she broke the school record for hits in a season with 56 and led the Tiger Cubs in batting average at .528. 

Emma Hunter, a shortstop, has committed to St. Mary of the Woods. A season ago, she belted five homers, including a walk-off grand slam over South Putnam to lift Greencastle to the sectional title game and hit .444 last spring. 

"Emma has the capability to put together a record breaking season this year," Coons said. 

Third baseman/catcher Elise Lausee has committed to IU-South Bend and hit .383 last season. According to Coons, she has shown the most improvement over the last three seasons and she is excited to see what her senior can do this year. 

"She has the power to be a homerun hitter, hitting four last season, but can also play small ball and produce a lot of runs. I also expect seniors Makenzie Epley, Olivia Richardville and Gloria Brewer to make a big impact," Coons said. 

Coons admits that when she looks at this year's squad she is "extremely excited." 

"We have the potential to be a sectional winning team. We really have three goals for the season -- win county, win sectional and finish the season with a winning record. The girls are clearly capable of reaching these goals," Coons said. 

And, if it happens, the pitching rotation will have a lot to do with it. 

"Our pitching staff is going to be one of the biggest factors this season. We had one of our pitchers not return this year, but we have gained a freshman pitcher, Ali Hassler, that will have to step up this season and work hard to pitch at a varsity level. We must remain a cohesive group like we were last year, as long as the girls are having fun playing softball together, the results will follow," Coons acknowledged.