The softball season is still very young, yet the Potomac School Panthers have been busy and quite successful over the first few days, compiling a 5-0 record in dominating fashion and winning two of three scrimmage games.
The girls high-school softball team is expected to be strong again this spring, after amassing a 36-3 combined mark the past two seasons and finishing second in the Division I private-school state tournament each time. The Panthers return eight key players, including top pitcher Yanna Bravewolf; infielders Erika Castellano and Eva Butler; outfielders’ Hayley Richardson, Fae Butler and Samantha Taylormoore and catcher Shelby Wilcox.
Abby Rebhan is another returning pitcher.
So far, Bravewolf and Rebhan have done the majority of the pitching.
“Yanna and Abby have been pitching well and getting people out,” Potomac School coach Wayne Loving said. “We like our team.”
The Panthers have won big in their five regular contests, downing Elizabeth Seton, 14-4, Maret, 17-3, Monroe, 13-1, Stone Ridge, 17-3, and St. John’s, 8-4. The win over Monroe came during spring-break competition in Myrtle Beach.
Against Monroe, Bravewolf and Rebhan combined on a three-hitter and struck out nine. The duo allowed four hits and fanned 11 against Elizabeth Seton. Bravewolf got the wins.
Against Maret, Alexis Vaughan started and got the victory, with Rebhan throwing in relief.
Potomac School had 15 hits each against Monroe and Elizabeth Seton and 17 versus Maret.
Bravewolf smacked a grand slam against Maret, with Vaughan, Castellano and Richardson also homering.
Bravewolf had four of the team’s 18 hits against Stone Ridge, with Castellano having three hits and Eva Butler three hits, including two doubles. Bravewolf was the winning pitcher with six strikeouts.
In the win over St. John’s, Eva Butler had two doubles and Castellano and Paige Schedler (three RBI) had two hits each, and Richardson doubled. Bravewolf fanned four and Rebhan six in four innings.
Fae Butler, Rebhan and Wilcox have been among other productive hitters. Rebhan tripled and doubled against Elizabeth Seton.
NOTE: Potomac School is the defending Independent School League AA Division tournament champion, winning the title in 2019. The 2020 season was not held because of COVID; and there was no ISL tournament last spring, when the Panthers finished 9-1, playing a limited schedule, also because of the pandemic.