"I'm looking for us doing well in our region," said Head Coach Scott Bauer.

All they need, Bauer said, is some solid practice time.

"Practice time is tough," he said. "We're all competing for dry inside places (to practice)."

A week or two of sun would help the cause. But until then the softball team is getting creative at practice.

Bauer said they have been swinging in a batting cage set up in a garage.

"They've been taking swings on real fast pitches," Bauer said. "When they can hit those they take three steps forward." Bauer said the team is taking cuts against college-speed pitches, which should only help when they face the real thing later this month.

Strong batting should get the Mariners on base consistently this season, and team speed should bring them home, Bauer said.

"We have a fast team, with aggressive base runners," he said. "It's free bases, the girls love that."

Leading the charge this year will be six seniors and seven returning players that include Channing Setterquist, Gretchen Duggar, Britta Baechler, Ellen Bauer, Kayla Creamer, Nyla Lightcap and Skya McKinstry.

Bauer said Setterquist has been a solid infielder and good hitter for the Mariners, as has Duggar, who plays second base.

Joining the varsity squad this year will be Sarah Manalissay, Megan Mischler, Sarah Ragland, Sierra Smith and Brittany Van Sandt.

Bauer said 35 or so girls came out for softball this year. "That's 18 or 20 percent of the high school girls population," Bauer said. "That's impressive."

He said he expects good things from the JV squad this year as well.

"I think it's the strongest group of freshmen I've ever seen," Bauer said.

The Mariners won their region last year and qualified for the state tournament by winning half of their regular season games. At the tournament they beat East High School and then lost a couple games to experienced Anchorage and Valley teams.

"It was a wonderful experience," Bauer said. "It was worth the trip to Fairbanks."

Bauer, noting the state tourney is in Fairbanks again this year is hoping to make the trip this spring.

"I'm confident we'll win half our games, and get to state," he said.

He said he felt the Mariners were the best team from a school with less than 1,000 students, and sees good play for some time.

"We've been together now for a while," he said. "We should continue to produce good athletes and teams."

The Mariners play an exhibition game May 1 at Karen Hornaday Park and open the regular season May 7 against Houston and Palmer.

Boys Baseball

The Mariner boys baseball program has enjoyed plenty of success in its short history now working toward its fourth region title in a row but this year could be a challenging one. The team lost five starters from last year, including Ben Kuhns, who is red-shirting at Trinity Junior College in Colorado.

And this year's squad has yet to actually take the field. Because of the weather, it has spent the past month indoors.

But Head Coach Lary Kuhns said he is confident returning players like team "sparkplug" Scotty Owens and some new recruits should fill the void.

"We had some depth (last year), guys that could have played that were waiting in the wings," Kuhns said.

Joe Sycowski, Travis Brown and Aaron Gilbert should step up nicely and take their place, Kuhns said. Jamey Smith is also a pleasant addition, he said. Smith is a standout swimmer, basketball player and excellent athlete.

Plus, Kuhns said, a new point system should help the team.

"The first game (of a double-header) will count for seeding points (at regions)," Kuhns said. "The second will count toward our season record."

This change, Kuhns said, will allow the Mariners to rest the pitching staff. And as Kuhns puts it "we like to think that pitching and defense wins championships."

The bullpen will consist primarily of Johnny Taylor, Luke Gilbert, Joe Szajkowski and Alex Trieweiler.

Kuhns says Trieweiler is "one of the hardest throwers in the region."

Like previous seasons Kuhns plans to play "small ball" again this year, using bunts, base hits and sacrifices to move runners into scoring position.

"We're a very quick and fast team," Kuhns said, which fits nicely in a system that relies on speed more than power to score runs.

Last season the Mariners swept the valley teams en route to a 13-1 record in region play and 14-2 overall.

Kuhns said this year's stiffest competition will be Kodiak and the Valley teams who might look for a little revenge.

"I think they'll be gunning for us this year," he said.

During normal seasons the team would be hitting live pitches at this point in the year, something they can't do with the wet fields. So they have been working on mechanics and the pitchers have seen plenty of work. But the baseball team, like all spring sports teams this year, is getting antsy.

"Hopefully by the time (we play our first game) we can get outside and hit some live pitching," he said.

The Mariners have won the academic award the past two seasons and won the sportsmanship award last year. Kuhns said he is especially proud of those accomplishments, and hopes the team can repeat as Region champs.

"We're not as deep I think as usual," he said. "But if we can stay healthy and the arms get stronger, we'll be right back in it again."

Ben Stuart can be reached at ben.stuart@homernews.com.