Mar 21, 2018 5 min read

West Greene High School head softball coach Bill Simms said his program is in “uncharted water.”

After losing the PIAA Class A championship game in 2016, the Pioneers won the school’s first team state championship last season with a 9-8 win over Williams Valley.

Coming off the success of last season, Simms said he doesn’t want his team to become complacent.

“These girls have been solid performers from the freshman rank all the way through,” said Simms, who is in his 13th season as head coach. “We’re hoping the junior-laden group we have stays hungry and doesn’t want to rest on the laurels of last season.”

If any team coming off a 26-1 season with WPIAL and state titles can improve in the following year, then it might be this year’s West Greene team.

The Pioneers are led by 16 upperclassmen – five seniors and 11 juniors – and return eight starters from last year’s team, including their top three pitchers.

Headlining the group of returners are twins Madison and McKenna Lampe, who were named Co-Players of the Year in Class A as sophomores last year by the Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association. McKenna Lampe was the Observer-Reporter Softball Player of the Year.

Madison Lampe, who Simms said will primarily play third base, posted an eye-popping .567/.606/1.122 slash line last season with eight home runs and 22 stolen bases.

“Madison Lampe is a multi-talented girl,” Simms said. “She’s an absolute rock at third base, she hits for power and she runs well. She hits in the two hole behind her sister. … She’s a sky-is-the-limit kind of girl.”

McKenna Lampe, who bats leadoff and plays center field, also accumulated ridiculous numbers in her sophomore season, reaching base at a .720 clip with seven homers and 48 stolen bases on 49 attempts.

“She hit .630 last year, and it’s going to be very difficult to replicate that,” Simms said. “She’s a two-headed monster in the fact that she can flick it down at you and outrun you to first, or she can tear the fences down with her bat, too. … She’s been extremely blessed with not only speed but also power. I would even like to see her swing for some more power when the situation calls for it this year instead of just trying to hit for that high average.”

Along with the Lampe twins, senior Madison Renner, sophomore Jade Renner and junior Kaitlyn Rizor were also named to the all-state team last season. Madison Renner was the Observer-Reporter’s Softball Player of the Year in 2016.

Simms said both Renner sisters and Rizor will likely pitch this season, though Jade Renner, who was the team’s No. 1 starter last season, is slated to be in that role again. As a freshman, Jade Renner posted a 1.87 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 116.1 innings while also hitting .405 with only one strikeout in 84 plate appearances.

“Not that (Jade Renner) got hit around last year, but she didn’t have as many strikeouts,” Simms said. “I just look at that, and I don’t want to put pressure on her because we don’t need her to strike people out, but I would like to see her strikeout total puff up a little as she settles in as a sophomore so she doesn’t have to pitch with all the pressure, like she did last year.”

Madison Renner, who Simms said will be playing at Muskingum University next year, will continue to play shortstop and hit in the middle of the order. Last season, Madison Renner led the team with 12 home runs while also striking out 38 batters in 31 2/3 innings.

“She can be the designated player, play six different positions or pitch,” Simms said. “But she needs to produce on offense for us of course, but she’s blessed by having girls on base ahead of her and girls who can hit behind her.”

Rizor, who was the team’s second baseman last season, will miss the beginning of this year with an injury to her throwing hand sustained during basketball season.

“We need her in May and hopefully June,” Simms said. “We don’t want to rush her back into the lineup in March. We want her to play as soon as possible but we’re not going to rush her.”

Simms said Rizor, who hit .540 with 19 extra-base hits last year, is “probably the most unsung kid in the WPIAL,” as she hits behind the Lampe twins and Madison Renner.

Lexie Monney, Linzee Stover and Mackenzie Carpenter also return as starters. The only departure from the starting nine is catcher Shelby Morris. Simms said his daughter, Kylie Simms, is expected to be the team’s catcher.

With the team’s first game on March 26 at home against Avella, Simms hopes his team is able to turn the page from last season to this season.

“What we did last year, or any other year, has nothing to do with this year, and I think the girls have an appreciation for that,” Simms said. “They want to make this team their own team.”