Right-hander Maddie Smith of Osan is a freshman, but is not new to the game of softball. (Jonessa Jones/Special to Stripes)
It’s been quite the school year for McKinzy Best and the E.J. King girls sports program.
He coached the Cobras – including his daughters Miu and Moa – to a Far East Division II tennis team title in October, then their first D-II basketball title since 1997 in January.
Can the Cobras make it three Far East banners in three sports seasons?
“We’re going to do our best,” he said. “But all the teams are good. It’s anybody’s day.”
They’ll get their chance at that season sweep – and try for their first D-II softball tournament title in school history – starting Monday at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, the tournament’s long-standing home dating back to the mid-2010s.
The tournament spans four days, unlike last year when it lasted three, as will the Division I tournament, scheduled for Monday-Thursday at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.
The D-II tournament features seven teams and the D-I five. Each includes a two-day full-league round-robin in which all teams play each other, followed by a two-day single-elimination playoff with consolation.
Kadena is the D-I defending champion and has gone unbeaten against American opposition thus far this season – and the Panthers have done it without last year’s D-I Most Valuable Player Jessica Petruff and Best Pitcher Julia Petruff, each sidelined the entire season by injuries.
That meant the pitching pressure fell to right-hander Nao Grove, a junior who said she approached the season with a bit of trepidation but toughed it out.
“There’s been a lot of support; I didn’t feel pressure,” Grove said. “I never felt like it was all on me.”
“She’s my friend,” said Julia Petruff, who did manage to finally pitch a few innings earlier this month but won’t play at Far East. “I trust her. She’s come through.”
Joy Sims, who until last season had coached at Daegu for nearly 10 years, became Kadena’s fourth coach in four seasons and said from what she had been told about previous seasons, the transition was seamless.
“I came into this not knowing what to expect, but the team culture is great. This has been such a wonderful experience,” Sims said, adding that she concentrates on building good people as well as good players. “That’s what it’s about.”
Freshman Coco Jones is new to the lineup, but not new to softball, and has become a solid infield addition for the defending champion Yokota Panthers. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
With ace right-handeer Julia Petruff shelved for the season, junior Nao Grove stepped into Kadena’s No. 1 pitcher’s role and the Panthers didn’t lose a step. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kalease Brown is one of two senior pitching options for Zama's softball team. (David Shepherd/Special to Stripes)
Teniya Nelson and Robert D. Edgren’s softball team get their pitching from a pair of seniors each named Alyssa (Singletary and Marrero). (David Shepherd/Special to Stripes)
Moa Best has been the best for E.J. King on the tennis and basketball courts so far this school year. Can the Cobras win three Far East titles in three sports seasons? (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Jessica Griffin is one of a handful of seniors returning for last year’s runner-up Matthew C. Perry. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Alyssa Marrero is one of two senior pitchers for Robert D. Edgren named Alyssa, the other being Singletary. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Given the Panthers’ successful history – six total D-I titles and entering the tournament as defending champions –
they appear to be the favorites going in.
Kubasaki, last year’s runner-up, is led by sophomore catcher Taylor Tobin and junior transfer shortstop Cadence Vandentop. Seniors Alex Tabaquero and Joy Hayes help fuel Humphreys. Kinnick sophomore catcher Sydnee Walker made all-tournament last year.
King only has one of the Best sisters in the D-II softball, infielder Moa, and a strong batting order featuring Alyssa Chaney, Sarah Goleman and Julia Hunt, who transferred from Kadena to Sasebo and has fit in nicely on the mound.
But the Cobras have also taken some lumps from last year’s runner-up, Matthew C. Perry, which is loaded with veterans in seniors Lily Bradley, Nina Altig, Jessica Griffin and Towa Albsmeyer.
Edgren is fueled by two pitchers named Alyssa: Seniors Alyssa Marrero and Alyssa Singletary. “He’s got those girls playing strong,” Best said of veteran Eagles coach David Carrano.
Zama has a core of veterans, including pitchers Deborah McClendon and Kalease Brown. Among the two unknowns to the teams in Japan, Daegu and Osan of Korea, the Cougars have a freshman, Maddie Smith, who is not new to the game. Osan has given Humphreys a handful this season.
And there’s defending champion Yokota, trying for its fourth D-II softball title. The Panthers, too have an arsenal of pitching, in juniors Zaylee Gubler and Erica Haas, and standout freshmen in Molly Bogdan and Coco Jones.
In the face of all that, Best says the best solution is to take things “one game at a time.”
“If we play one game at a time, and play hard, the prize may be in sight,” he said. “Whoever shows up (on game day), that’s who wins.”
