Flintridge Prep lost eight players — including three that Coach Julie Jaime expected to return — but the Rebels’ five seniors lost pale in comparison to Glendale, which began last season with 14 seniors on a 16-player roster.
In the area softball landscape, only two first-team All-Area selections return — Falcons Alyssa Sovereign and Erin Ashby.
Indeed, it’s a new dawn, a new day and a new season.
“You can call them the new-look Falcons, cause that’s what they’re gonna be,” said Berry of his squad, which has four returning starters, but only two — catcher Allison Lacey and left fielder Nicole Salas — in the same position.
While nobody can argue the magnitude of the losses incurred by the Falcons to graduation, Berry, though paying homage to his past standouts, believes the key is concentrating on this season and not those that came before it.
“We think of them and the accomplishments they had ... but we’re so focused on how we can run, catch and hit,” said Berry, who will likely keep Ashby, who’s verbally committed to Stanford, as the leadoff hitter with Lacey in the No. 2 spot and Sovereign, who’s headed to Penn State, batting third. “If you’re not looking to step in someone’s shoes, then you never can.”
But one repeat accomplishment the Falcons — who have gone undefeated over the past two league campaigns and went 26-2 last year before falling in the CIF quarterfinals — are striving for is winning another league title, something Berry believes to be an arduous task, with many believing Burroughs to be a worthy contender for the crown.
