United softball small in numbers, big in senior leadership; Meet the Red Storm
MONMOUTH — The good news for Marc McMahon’s United High School softball team is that he has five seniors returning this spring who have been with him all three years he’s coached the Red Storm.
The bad news is those five veterans make up nearly half the squad, as McMahon also has two players from each of the junior, sophomore and freshman classes, for a total of 11 players in the program.
More good news? A year ago, the Red Storm placed second in the Lincoln Trail Conference, so his returners are certainly talented. United reached the regional title game before falling 6-1 to another LTC squad, Annawan/Wethersfield, who McMahon said returns its top pitcher, Daci Hier.
The United coach said Hier’s return makes A/W the league favorite this year, and he also listed ROWVA/Williamsfield and West Central as teams to watch. R/W returns first-team All-LTC selections Kataleena Hunt and Maddie Nelson, while West Central also has a pair of first-teamers back, Mackenzy Ludington and Brynna Seitz.
The top returner for McMahon’s group is second team All-LTC pick Luci Kane. The senior plays shortstop for the Red Storm.
Maddie Hepner is the new ace for United following the graduation of first-team All-LTC pitcher Riley Tyrrell.
“Madi’s only a sophomore, but she’s thrown quite a bit in summer league games,” said McMahon.
Backing her up in the circle is freshman Rhylyne Toops and Amber Brunswig, who’ll log most of her time at first base.
Maddie Diaz, a senior, handles the catching duties, backed up by the team’s other freshman, Brodi McVeigh. The rest of the infield includes Ayden Penn at third base and Addison Murray at second. The outfield features seniors – Madi Penn, Karragan Sperry and Katie Douglas.
"We’ve got really good leadership this year. The five seniors have been with me the whole time, so they know how we like to do things," McMahon said. "We hit a lot of home runs last year, but we lost some of our power hitters, so we’ll feature a little more speed this year.”
United's schedule
Thu., April 7 vs Peoria Central, 4:30 p.m.
Sat., April 9 vs Abingdon-Avon, 11 a.m. (DH)
Tue., April 12 at West Central, 4:30 p.m.
Thu., April 14 vs West Central, 4:30 p.m.
Fri., April 15 vs Galva, 3:30 p.m. (DH)
Tue., April 19 at Annawan/Wethersfield, 4:30 p.m.
Thu., April 21 vs Annawan/Wethersfield, 4:30 p.m.
Fri., April 22 vs Mercer County, 3:30 p.m. (DH)
Tue., April 26 at Knoxville, 4:30 p.m.
Thu., April 28 vs Knoxville, 4:30 p.m.
Sat., April 30 vs Ridgewood, 11 a.m. (DH)
Thu., May 5 at Princeville, 4 p.m. (DH)
Tue., May 10 at ROWVA/Williamsfield, 4:30 p.m.
Thu., May 12 vs ROWVA/Williamsfield, 4:30 p.m.
Sat., May 14 at Orion, TBD (DH)
This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: IHSA Softball: Meet the United Red Storm
