The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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  • Vanessa Lloyd (left) and Nikki Starkson will do most of the pitching in 2010 for the Mankato West softball team, replacing two-time all-state pitcher Ashley Veroeven. John Cross

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March 21, 2010

Scarlets unfazed by turnover of talent

Starkson and Lloyd look to replace departed All-State luminaries Veroeven and Goettl

Tyler Buckentine Free Press Sports Editor

MANKATO — Vanessa Lloyd and Nikki Starkson have heard it before. All the talk about filling in the holes in the Mankato West softball team’s lineup left by a few outstanding graduates.

Seniors and second team all-state picks Ashley Veroeven and Ashley Goettl, along with senior Alyssa Black who received honorable mention, led the Scarlets to a 22-4 record and the Class AAA State Tournament.

 But the players on this season’s team are ready for a challenge.

“It could be hard in the beginning,” said Starkson, who normally plays shortstop. “But I think we’ll fall into a rhythm and be able to do what we were able to last year.”

Starkson and Lloyd are both returning members of the 2009 All-Big Nine Conference Team with Janee Wise and honorable mention pick Mia Barten.

West coach Don Krusemark said Starkson and Lloyd will do the bulk of the pitching as those two are the only returning players with any pitching experience.

“We have two good pitchers coming back who we think can do the job,” Krusemark said. “They’re probably going to be our aces. I don’t see much of a drop-off.”

They will replace Veroeven who went 16-4 with a 0.62 ERA and 176 strikeouts as a senior. The Scarlets will miss her bat too, as Veroeven hit .341 and led West in home runs (three) and runs scored (26).

“It’s big shoes to fill, obviously,” said Lloyd, whose normal position is second base. “But we’ve seen the games. We’ve pitched before and I think we’re ready to step up.”

West will also be without Goettl’s power. Besides leading the Scarlets in batting average (.447), Goettl finished the season with two home runs, a triple and a team-high 11 doubles for a team-leading .697 slugging percentage.

Goettl also led the team in RBIs (26), hits (34) and total bases (53).

But the Scarlets will focus rather on what they have. Lloyd hit .412 with eight doubles and 25 RBIs a year ago. Starkson hit .333 with seven doubles and 21 RBIs.  Wise brings power with seven doubles and a pair of home runs.

West needs those players to step up this season in order to continue its dominance of the Big Nine Conference. The Scarlets won the past four Big Nine titles with only one conference loss in that span — which came at the hands of Mankato East last season.

“We’ve got some holes to fill but we have good people coming back,” Krusemark said. “Our B and C squads were good the past few years so we look to replace them.”

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