A seven-day offseason came at the worst time for the Rainier High School fastpitch team.
The WIAA’s spring practice window began Monday, March 3, and the Mountaineers kicked off their season just nine days later against Cascade Christian on Wednesday, March 12.
Rainier’s team looks much different than the last time it took the field May 13, 2024. Three key seniors have moved on, and the team is recouping from the loss of senior Brooklynn Swenson, who ruptured her achilles in the basketball district title game. Just one senior and three returners are back for a Mountaineers team with a handful of inexperienced newcomers, but head coach Katie Qualls said the first days of practice have been promising despite the roster shakeup.
“There’s been a lot of progress. We have some kids that are a little inexperienced and haven’t played before, but the more experienced kids are doing the same thing they did last year and are working with them,” she said.
Only nine players showed up to the first day of practice, but while Qualls was away from the team for the majority of the first week, a few more trickled in. While Qualls and assistant coach MiAna Muhammad are grateful for the growth in numbers, they’ve been tasked with starting from the ground up with several players in a short amount of time.
“We’re just gonna have to start with basic-level skills and encourage them. It’s a little different this year because games are starting so fast,” Qualls said. “You’ve got to be supportive. We’re encouraging them to stay out and stick with it because it’s not the easiest thing to stick with.
Sophomore ace Ryleigh Cruse returns after two seasons carrying the bulk of the workload, but, for the first time, she will have a couple more pitchers to give her a rest.
“I don’t think I’ll have as much of a workload this year, but I’m definitely still gonna do what I can,” Cruse said. “My main goal is to get more strikeouts than last year.”
Freshman Gracie Lantz saw time on the mound as an eighth grader last year, but she will play first base and bring a powerful bat to the lineup. Mia Naval, third base, Elaina Henry, shortstop, and Elly Henry, second base, will round out the young infield that replaces Swenson, Olivia Earsley and Raychel Hansen.
Despite the newcomers manning the interior, Qualls was impressed with what she’s seen defensively in practice.
“I think our infield is gonna be pretty solid. We might have some kids that aren’t used to playing the position that they’re in right now, but they’re gonna have to stay there, and they’re not complaining about it,” she said. “I was very impressed with the first practices.”
The offense will be anchored by Cruse and two-time Central 2B All-League first team catcher Keira Anderson, who batted .564 in 2024 and drove in 33 runs, as less than half of the team’s total hit production in 2024 returns. Anderson embraces the responsibility that comes with being the lone senior on the field.
“I have to lead by example and be the person that people can come to to ask questions,” she said. “I definitely want to win games and improve on the little things. Even if we don’t win as many games as I would like, I’d like to improve every game.”
Junior centerfielder Layla Hill brings experience to an otherwise young outfield. The unit struggled defensively last year and may endure some more bumps in 2025.
“She’s gonna have to step up out there and take the lead because that’s where our weakness is going to be,” Qualls said of Hill. “You can’t just go out and learn how to play outfield. It’s a difficult position. We don’t really have the numbers to take from the infield to put into the outfield. [Layla] is going to have to cover a lot of ground this year, and I think she knows that. She was impressive last year.”
Qualls’ three main priorities for her team in 2025 are offensive consistency, limiting defensive errors, and having fun. She knows what her veterans can bring offensively, but she’s hopeful that her newcomers will bring some juice to an offense that often struggled to put up runs in 2024.
“There’s going to be a couple holes, which was kind of like last year. If we can get a consistent seven hitters out there, I’m confident that we can get some results,” Qualls said.
Anderson may be the only senior suiting up for the Mountaineers in 2025, but Swenson, despite her injury, has frequented practices and provided mentorship to the young team.
“She’s one of the easiest players to coach. She’s just a great athlete and very supportive,” Muhammad said.
“I think it speaks volumes. She wants to be involved. She wants to see how everybody’s doing. She wants to make sure that they know she’s still a part of the team,” Qualls, Swenson’s mother, added. “When it happened, we had that, ‘Oh, what do we do now?’ It was a week and a half out from the season, and I was like, ‘Am I still going to coach?’ But she wanted to be a part of it, and she’s probably been more optimistic than the adults in her life.”
The Mountaineers will begin their season with six of their first eight games on the road. They opened the campaign with a road test at Cascade Christian on Wednesday, March 12, but results were not available before press time. Rainier’s home opener is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday, March 14 against North Thurston.
