There’s light at the end of the tunnel.<\/p>\n
In a program that has struggled in recent years, Kent-Meridian has reason to believe on the fastpitch diamond this spring.<\/p>\n
“It seems we do have some building blocks,” Kent-Meridian coach Rachel Watanabe said. “I am praying they will build their skills and that, in a couple years, we’ll be able to hang a little better than in the past.”<\/p>\n
The past, which includes a string of five straight last-place finishes, is something the Royals would like to forget. And that climb upward began last spring, when K-M knocked off Federal Way on April 18, the program’s first North Division win in more than five seasons.<\/p>\n
The momentum from that victory, no matter how small, is what the Royals are keying on this season. But there’s also reason for optimism because, as Watanabe noted, K-M has a few building blocks from which to start.<\/p>\n
Leading the way is do-it-all freshmen Josie Handolero.<\/p>\n
“She’s a natural leader and loves to help other people learn how to play the game,” Watanabe said.<\/p>\n
Handolero will be K-M’s ultimate Swiss Army knife this season, filling roles in the circle, infield and outfield.<\/p>\n
K-M also will turn to speedy sophomore Priscilla Gonzales for a lift.<\/p>\n
“She is a natural athlete who is faster than fast,” Watanabe said.<\/p>\n
And though the Royals aren’t likely to contend with league heavyweights Kentlake, Auburn Riverside and Jefferson just yet, their ascension has begun.<\/p>\n
“You can see it and you can feel it, too,” Watanabe said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There’s light at the end of the tunnel. In a program that has struggled in recent years, Kent-Meridian has reason to believe on the fastpitch diamond this spring. “It seems we do have some building blocks,” Kent-Meridian coach Rachel Watanabe said. “I am praying they will build their skills and that, in a couple years, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-7307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7307\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7307"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=7307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}