Lady Tigers host season debut today

The Mountain Home Lady Tigers open their 2014 softball season today, March 12, at home against Middleton.

Second year coach Ron Nicolosi is hoping to improve upon last year's season that saw his Lady Tigers go 3-13 in league play and 6-19 overall.

Nicolosi says the numbers he has out for softball has him encouraged.

"It was much better than last year. We had approximately 30 girls come out, and the big thing was, we had some that didn't do what they needed to do and get their physicals and get the paperwork taken care of, so it dropped us down to 28. So that's where we're sitting at between JV and varsity."

Coach Nicolosi is pleased with the experience he has back from last year.

"It's looking good. We've got our returners coming (back) in Heather (Adams) and Morgan (Vivier), Taylor (Reed), and Madi (Karst) and Maeghan (Pomerantz), so we've got some good experience coming back to be able to help us out and teach the younger girls what we do, and we're looking for great things out of them.

"We've got some great speed this year -- we've got some girls that can run -- and we're going to try some things that I think hopefully is going to allow us to improve on last year's performance."

The 4A Southern Idaho Conference once again had the 2013 State champion in Bishop Kelly, with Skyview finishing third at state. Nicolosi expects the conference to once again be tough this year.

"Bishop Kelly won state last year and the top three of four teams were from our conference. This (the 4A SIC) is the toughest conference in the state -- we know that. With the realignment coming next year, we really want to put our best foot forward and do the best we can before the realignment -- let them know that Lady Tiger softball has come back and we're going to contend."

Wood River, Emmett and Borah were here Saturday for a Jamboree.

Coach Nicolosi was pleased with his girls' efforts on the day.

"Offensively, I thought we made pretty good contact when we did, and I saw a lot of balls hit hard," the coach said. "Our base running was above average, and I saw some good speed from a lot of our girls.

"Defensively, we had a lot of girls play in various positions. It was very positive and has given us some options that will definitely benefit the team.

"I think the area I am most pleased with was our pitching. Heather (Adams) and McKenna (Lewis) both did a very good job. For the most part, they hit their spots and moved the ball around well. Their velocity was there and I was impressed with their ball movement.

"The jamboree was a great success," the coach added. "We appreciate Emmett, Wood River and a late substitute, Borah, for coming over and participating. All the coaches commented about how beneficial it was for them.

"Although we still have things to work on, I can see us improving every time we step out onto the field. I'm proud of the way the girls supported each other, and as a coaching staff, we saw them start to become a team during the jamboree.

"As we ended the day and met as a team, we could see how tired the girls were. That tells me the kind of effort that they put in to the jamboree. There's no doubt they'll give that type of an effort every time out."

The Lady Tigers open this (Wednesday) afternoon at home against Middleton.

"That's not going to be an easy opener, unfortunately," said Coach Nicolosi, "but we're looking forward to the challenge. Again, I really see us improving, I really see us competing, and more than anything, I think a lot of teams are going to look by us and find out that they shouldn't have done that."

The first pitch is at 5 p.m. this afternoon at Memmelaar Field in Mountain Home.

The Lady Tigers also play at Emmett Friday at 5 p.m. and host Canyon Ridge for a doubleheader Saturday starting at 11 a.m.