Softball
Head Coach: Jeff Davidson, 19th Season as Varsity HC at Spanish Springs
Last season’s record: 23-11-1 Overall, 11-5 League. Third in Northern 5A.
Key Losses: Sharlee Jackson, Sadie Fox, Makena Dahir,
Overview: The Cougars fell short of playing in the State Tournament last season for the first time in a number of years. Fear not Cougars this squad returning should be highly motivated and ready to compete after falling short of their annual goals the past two seasons. Coach Davidson and his staff have quietly become the best softball program in Northern Nevada over the past two decades having won multiple league, region and state championships in the process. Look out for Layni Noonkester and Lily Delamora to steer the Cougs this season as they lost some big hitters from last year’s teams but will most assuredly continue to compete at the highest levels in all of Nevada. If I am Douglas or Reed, I am not looking past the Cougs this season.
What can we expect from your team this season?
Offense – Strong with the addition of some more speed.
Defense – Strong starting nine with lots of flexibility.
Pitching – Two returners and a freshman to add to our rotation.
Returning starters for the 2024 season – 5.
What is the key to growing/maintaining your program? We continue to have strong incoming freshman classes and strive for a high level of development from our coaching staff.
What is different or special about your team this season in comparison to years past? We have a smaller roster than last year which should give all of our players more playing time.
Players to watch this season:
Junior Lily Delamora, P – All League Pitcher last year is the latest in a long line of dominant Cougar pitchers. Delamora has a high ceiling and can take the Cougs to the next level.
Senior Layni Noonkester, SS – Quite possibly the best defensive SS in the north but only time will tell.
Senior McKenna Timmons, 2B – Takes over for Sadie Fox, who had a great senior season last year.
League schedule:
3/19 vs. Douglas
3/23 vs. Bishop Manogue (Doubleheader)
4/11 at Damonte Ranch
4/13 vs. Galena (Doubleheader)
4/30 vs. Damonte Ranch
5/2 at Douglas
5/4 at Reed (Doubleheader)
Baseball
Head Coach: Matt Guthrie, 1st Season as Varsity HC at Spanish Springs HS.
Last season’s record: 14-13-1 Overall, 8-8 League. Fifth in League.
Key Losses: Isaiah Mezger, Lukas Hutson, Anakin Botts, Bryson Glassco, JJ Dain, Christian Obos, Jacob Doyle, and Chase Keller
Overview: Cougars fans aren’t going to be happy with me for saying this, but I believe that with all the talent that they had last year they severely underperformed in the regular season and flamed out even worse in the playoffs. Counting last season, the Cougars rostered a total of eight all league players over the course of the ’22 and ’23 seasons and barely finished above .500 for the season. They went 0-2 in the playoffs and dealt with some turmoil inside the program. Fast forward to now and the Cougars have a new coaching staff in place and many young, hungry players ready to get the Cougars back on track this upcoming season. Roster construction for the Cougars has them set up for future success, of the 22 players they have on their roster only four of them are seniors this season so the underclassmen will get a ton of experience this season in their ‘trial by fire’ moments. Can the Cougs get back to being a Final Four team in Northern Nevada? I wouldn’t bet against it.
What can we expect from your team this season?
Offense – We’ll strive to be a team that puts the ball in play hard, play small ball, and puts pressure on the defense. We will also prioritize smart and aggressive baserunning.
Defense – We want to master the fundamentals and take care of the baseball. We should be solid up the middle and at the corner (infield) spots. Our outfielders have a lot of speed and the ability to run balls down.
Pitching – Pitching should be a strong spot for us this season. We have some solid starters and a lot of depth in the bullpen.
Returning starters for the 2024 season – 4, three pitchers and one position player.
What is the key to growing/maintaining your program? Continuing to build through our youth program and lower levels.
What is different or special about your team this season in comparison to years past? Our youth. Last year we had an older team and graduated 16 seniors. We have a lot of talented players, but we will be fairly young. The past few years we’ve been able to rely on the big home runs. This season will be more about manufacturing runs.
Players to watch this season:
Senior Zach Dinubilo, P/OF
Senior Nick Crawford, 3B/1B
Senior Sam Bayliss, P/INF
Senior Jack Myers, Utility
Additional Impact Players:
Juniors Noah Kelly, OF; Daniel Barajas, RHP; and Preston Snyder, RHP.
Sophomores Jackson Trueblood, RHP; Cole Schafer, RHP/IF; Landon Pahang, RHP/IF; and Grady Ortiz, C.
League Schedule:
3/12 vs. Galena
3/14 at Reno
3/16 vs. Reno
3/19 vs. McQueen
3/21 at Reed
4/4 at Damonte Ranch
4/6 vs. Damonte Ranch
4/9 vs. Carson
4/11 vs. Bishop Manogue
4/13 at Douglas
4/16 at Galena
4/18 vs. Reed
4/23 at McQueen
4/27 at Carson
4/30 at Bishop Manogue
5/1 at Douglas