Pasco Softball Not Satisfied With 2nd

LAND O' LAKES - If you think the Pasco softball team is complacent with finishing second in the state in Class 4A last season, think again.

Many coaches would have looked at a 13-0 victory in the season opener that included a five-inning no-hitter by the pitcher and would have been grinning from ear to ear.

Those coaches aren't Pasco's Shamalene Broner, the reigning Class 4A coach of the year.

When asked if she was impressed with the season-opening victory against Sunlake, she was honest.

"Well, no, not really. We were a little flat," said Broner, in her sixth season as the Pirates' coach. "We started off flat."

Pasco scored its first run in the second inning, then put together a five-run third, a five-run fourth and a two-run fifth.

"They were ready since the first day of school," Broner said. "They had been ready forever. It's just a shame that softball is a spring sport and we have to wait until after Christmas to get going, but they've been ready.

"Now it's just getting rid of the practice and starting to play makes it better. ... They're ready."

Pitcher Colena Lazar played travel ball immediately following the state finals loss, but that wasn't enough to dull the gnawing feeling she felt from the defeat.

"I was pretty upset about the state finals, actually," Lazar said shortly after striking out 13 in the opener. "It still bothers me. We want to go back. We're going back."

The team lost three seniors to graduation, with the most critical loss being catcher Kaylee Burchfield.

But Broner remains confident in her group, which returns 10 players from last season.

One of those players, Lucy Schneider, blasted a two-run homer over Sunlake's left-field fence.

"The level of frustration was pretty high, but we messed up," Schneider said. "We made a lot of errors, but I think it forces us to grow to show that we can do it. So we just have to work a little bit harder."

Working harder this season means the Pirates still have an item on their checklist - the Sunshine Athletic Conference.

"You get that far and everybody's gunning for you, and we finished second in the conference, so we're trying to finish first this year," Broner said. "We're trying to take everything; conference, district, so we've got to work hard. It's not just going to be handed to us."

Sounds like her players are on board with those provisions.

"We work 10 times harder," Lazar said, "because everyone on the team wants to go back."