Some familiar faces (and arms) will be absent from the pitching circle in EvCo games this spring.
Gone are Aberdeen’s Lilly Camp, Tumwater’s Ella Ferguson, Centralia’s Hollynn Wakefield, and Black Hills’ Ella Goheen, who all graduated last spring.
Instead, a new crop of pitchers will either step into bigger roles, who make their debuts in the circle.
W.F. West’s Taylor Tobin has the most experience in the circle among area returners, and she earned a first-team pitching nod alongside Ferguson last year.
Tobin tallied 14 wins and 156 strikeouts last season, and with her leading the charge, the Bearcats are aiming to get back to state after missing out last season.
Karlee Coleman provides some pop in the heart of the Bearcats’ lineup. She was the only player in the league to homer off both Ferguson and Camp, who are now pitching Division I softball.
W.F. West’s lineup will also include Rayah Middleton, Gracie Elam, and Taylor Tobin, who each earned all-league nods in 2025.
Centralia is turning to both Adrianne Lynch and McKenna Smith in the circle, and both have already impressed through Centralia’s first two games. Lynch allowed just one run in four innings of the Tigers’ opener against Rochester, while Smith followed with four and a third shutout innings in Centralia’s win over Mossyrock on Monday.
Maddalyn Rothdeutsch is back behind the plate and will provide a spark in the middle of the lineup along with Lynch and Jaden Johnson, who had two hits in both of the first two games of the year.
Tumwater’s Sarah Stevens saw time in the circle last year as a sophomore, earning a second-team all-league nod, and she’ll look to lead the T-Birds back to the state tournament after a fourth-place finish in Selah ten months ago.
The T-Birds also bring back Megan Barrett, Brielle Womach, and Sophie Skillman, three all-league talents from last spring, and Chloe Foos also provides a defensive boost at second base.
Sophomores Maddie Knight and Hannah O’Shurak have both seen time in the circle for Black Hills, and senior Emma Arko has a hold on the other half of the battery after earning second-team honors behind the plate in 2025.
The Wolves will have to overcome the loss of Kailey Miller, a three-time first-team all-league infielder who will miss her entire senior season with a shoulder injury. Her softball career isn’t over, entirely, though, as she is currently committed to play collegiately at Western Washington University.
In addition to O’Shurak and Knight, Makenna Oderman and Lily Shipe are also expected to step into bigger roles as sophomores this season.
