Strong Kennedy Squad Back, Again and Again

Opponents in the Archdiocese Athletic Conference might as well stop holding their breath. is not coming down this season, either.

And maybe not for awhile.

There is pride in Celts’ softball talk these days, the opposite of a program that dwelled in the AAA basement as early as four years ago. Since the arrival of coach Troy Ufert in 2008, the squad has run up a record of 60-15, including a state quarterfinal appearance in 2009. While district championships are often milestones for area squads, expectations have gotten so quickly feverish in the halls of Kennedy that a sectional loss—such as the one to Lutheran South last season—brings nothing but heartbreak.

“Softball is a bigger thing around here now,” Ufert said. “There is a love for it, and I don’t know if that was there before, but it’s taken a bit more seriously now. It has been a nice stretch, but I’m not the one who goes out and plays. I don’t throw strikes, I don’t lay down bunts, I don’t get hits—it’s them. I’ve had a real good group of girls.”

While it may be the Kennedy girls doing the work, it’s Ufert’s small-school philosophy that has kept cycling talent without costly penalty from graduation. Without the numbers to choose from, Ufert has simply let talent reign over seniority.

Exhibit A is junior catcher Alexis Ehrlich. With a vote of confidence from her new coach in a solid freshman season, Ehrlich went on in 2010 to make second-team All-State as a sophomore, setting the school record for hits (43) and runs (40) along the way. She led last year’s squad in nearly every category, including average (.489), slugging (.750) and stolen bases (12).

Ehrlich’s battery mate is the product of a Ufert-backed freshman from three years ago. Senior pitcher Brooke Miller, sibling to hurler Paige Miller who graduated last year, returns for her fourth varsity season. Pitching just the leftovers from her sister last season, Brooke went a perfect 5-0 in five games, allowing nine earned runs, only three of them earned. She earned all-conference honors as a hitter, as well, batting .476/.547/.732.

Junior Kayla Cox also returns after a successful season as an underclassman. The athletic centerfielder made first-team all-conference as a sophomore, batting .324, and will test her defensive ability at shortstop this season. Senior Rebecca Powers, another 2010 all-conference selection, will also make a shift this season, moving from third to first, and from the two-hole to cleanup.

Utility senior Melissa Mangan will earn more starting time at second base and in the outfield after starting half the games last season. And sophomore Taylor Miller, the third sister in the softball family, will find time at third and second after batting as the designated hitter last season.

“Graduation is always going to hurt, but life in high school goes on,” Ufert said. “I’ve got four out of my top five hitters returning, all of them all-conference, either first or second-team, and I’m filling in the rest of the holes with younger players. My theory is just to put the best kids out there. If it’s a younger kid, so be it.”

Kennedy has easily found its way back to its winning ways in the 2011 season, pummeling Lutheran North 15-0 and Notre Dame 21-1 in a 4-0 start.