High expectations surround Polk County softball squad

Billy Alm admits he’s inherited a pretty good situation for his first season as Polk County’s head softball coach.

“With this team, you could come in and fill out the lineup card and they’re going to win games,” Alm said. “That’s a good thing. I can learn from that.”

When Polk County opens its 2016 softball season on Thursday at North Buncombe, weather permitting, it will mark the first time since 1995 that anyone other than Jeff Wilson has been the Wolverines’ head coach. Wilson announced his retirement in June after winning more than 350 games.

Polk County posted a 21-4 record in Wilson’s final season, reaching the third round of the state 2A playoffs. Five all-conference starters return from that squad, including Western Highlands Conference pitcher of the year Ashley Scruggs, and that nucleus helped Polk earn a nod from the North Carolina Softball Coaches Association, ranked 10th in the group’s preseason state 2A poll.

All of which has made Alm’s job as much about managing expectations as the Wolverines as he transitions from coaching baseball to softball.

“I’ve learned a lot,” Alm said after a recent practice. “Some things are different, some things are the same as baseball. The girls are helping a lot. I’ve asked a lot of questions.”

Fortunately for Alm, there are a lot of answers to be had.

In Scruggs, Alm has one of the top pitchers in the area. The junior finished 21-4 last season, striking out 122 batters while posting an earned run average of 1.53. Scruggs now has career totals of 41 wins and 299 strikeouts.

Sophomore Haley Fowler will also see some time on the mound for Polk, but Fowler’s main duty will be manning third base, a move across the field after she started at first base most of last season. Fowler hit .429 as a freshman en route to earning all-conference honors.

Sophomore Karli Wood is expected to be the starter at first.

The middle of the lineup will again be manned by a pair of all-conference selections, sophomore Maranda Gosnell at second and senior Hayley Kropp at short. Gosnell hit .531 as a freshman, notching a 22-game hitting streak at one point, while Kropp hit .439 with six homers and 37 RBI.

Sophomore Autumn Owen, who hit six homers with 24 RBI and batted .420, moves to her natural position of catcher after starting last season at third base.

Freshman Ansley Lynch will open the season in center field, with another freshman, Morgan Stott, set to see time in left field along with senior Katelyn Allison. Ashley Ponder will open the season in right.

“We’ve got a lot of raw power hitting-wise,” Alm said. “These girls have a lot of softball smarts. They know the game. We’ve got a couple of freshmen who may be starting, and once they get over the intimidation factor, that’s going to be huge.”

Alm hopes a challenging non-conference schedule will help prepare Polk County for what promises to be a tough Western Highlands Conference race, with Madison and Owen again expected to be league title contenders, as well as the postseason. The Wolverines will play a home-and-home series with Gaffney, S.C., will visit perennial 3A power Pisgah and will face defending state champion Union County, S.C. on March 28 at USC Upstate’s Cyrill Stadium.

West Henderson and the Asheville Trailblazers are also on the non-conference schedule along with North Buncombe.

“When you look at the past years, this program has won 20 games a season for quite a while,” Alm said. “We’re trying this year to play some strong non-conference games to get us ready for what’s coming. Playing Gaffney, playing Union, playing Pisgah will help us out in the playoffs and in the conference.

“For us as coaches, we’re trying to push the program to the next level. That’s what we’re trying to do.”