{"id":2447617,"date":"2019-08-15T23:28:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T05:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/young-aspen-softball-team-looks-to-move-on-from-losing-streak\/"},"modified":"2019-08-15T23:28:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-16T05:28:00","slug":"young-aspen-high-softball-team-looks-to-move-on-from-losing-streak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/young-aspen-high-softball-team-looks-to-move-on-from-losing-streak\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Aspen High softball team looks to move on from losing streak"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.5438596491228\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-311322-695\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/AHSsoftball-atd-081619-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/AHSsoftball-atd-081619-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Aspen High senior Laney Martens throws during warm ups as practice on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019 at Upper Moore Field. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Aspen High senior Laney Martens throws during warm ups as practice on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019 at Upper Moore Field. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/AHSsoftball-atd-081619-1.jpg\" alt=\"Aspen High senior Laney Martens throws during warm ups as practice on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019 at Upper Moore Field. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/AHSsoftball-atd-081619-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/AHSsoftball-atd-081619-1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Aspen High School softball coach Dave Fuentes leads practice on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, at Upper Moore Field. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Aspen High School softball coach Dave Fuentes leads practice on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, at Upper Moore Field. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/AHSsoftball-atd-081619-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Aspen High School softball coach Dave Fuentes leads practice on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, at Upper Moore Field. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/young-aspen-softball-team-looks-to-move-on-from-losing-streak\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/young-aspen-softball-team-looks-to-move-on-from-losing-streak\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">The best part about the Aspen High School softball team having so many young players is most of them don\u2019t know much about the program\u2019s recent history. At least, that\u2019s how coach Dave Fuentes sees it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI don\u2019t think it even matters to this group,\u201d the fifth-year head coach said. \u201cThe returning girls know that we can win, so hopefully they can build on that with the rest of the girls. I think the underclassmen, the new players, aren\u2019t really aware of the situation in terms of breaking that streak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/powered-by-senior-class-aspen-softball-eyes-elusive-victory\/\">upperclassmen certainly know of the streak<\/a>, as they were part of breaking it. The losing streak wasn\u2019t counted in terms of games, but in terms of years. On Sept. 17, 2018, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/streak-over-aspen-softball-gets-first-win-since-2009-beats-gunnison-in-shootout\/\">Skiers beat Gunnison 19-18<\/a> on a random Monday in Delta. That win, the only win of the 2019 season for Aspen, was the program\u2019s first since the 2009 season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It was a feeling that group knew nothing about and had long sought.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt was amazing. The rush of being so close to winning and finally getting it was awesome,\u201d AHS senior Sami Jaworski recalled during Thursday\u2019s practice. \u201cI feel pretty good. We lost quite a few people last season, but we\u2019ve got some new recruits. \u2026 I would love to win some more games.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Skiers, who open their 2019 season on Saturday, have a lot to replace. They had eight seniors officially listed on last year\u2019s roster, including starting pitcher Lexi Ferlisi and catcher Kaelin Harris. The only seniors on the roster this fall are Jaworski and Laney Martens, who look to fill those roles. Jaworski, a standout hockey goalie, will fill in behind the plate, while Martens moves from shortstop to the circle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s a big responsibility. I just hope that we lead them in the right direction,\u201d Martens said of her new role as senior pitcher. \u201cIn this program it\u2019s not (about) winning and losing, it\u2019s about getting better every single day. And knowing that half these girls out here have never played ball before, it\u2019s a nice, humbling thing to know we are coming out here from the bottom and we have to work our way up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While the team isn\u2019t heavy on senior leadership, it does have some promising younger players. Hannah Popish, Nikki Harris and Lauren Kelley, all sophomores, have at least some varsity experience to lean on from last year and should mix well with the new freshmen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe good news is we have a really energetic bunch of freshmen. Our senior leadership is really stepping up and helping guide them, so that\u2019s fun to see,\u201d Fuentes said. \u201cWe\u2019ve made a lot of progress in three days. We have a long way to go, but it\u2019s fun to have some fresh perspective out here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Skiers open the season Saturday with a doubleheader in Grand Junction against Durango, a team that went 10-13 a year ago but does have a new coach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">AHS will then host a doubleheader on Tuesday against Delta, which is ranked <a href=\"https:\/\/chsaanow.com\/2019-08-12\/colorado-high-school-softball-rankings-preseason-2019\/\">preseason No. 4 in Class 3A<\/a> by CHSAANow.com.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The dream this season is for the upperclassmen to build off last season\u2019s streak-ending win, while the younger players can rewrite a new legacy for the program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt was definitely a highlight of my career and probably of high school, as well. I wrote my senior speech about softball,\u201d said Ferlisi, who was helping coach the team this week before she heads to California to restart her academic career at Chapman University. \u201cI hope they can get a few wins under their belt and show us up a little. They are definitely better than we were as freshmen, so there is hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/young-aspen-softball-team-looks-to-move-on-from-losing-streak\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aspen High senior Laney Martens throws during warm ups as practice on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019 at Upper Moore Field. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times Aspen High School softball coach Dave Fuentes leads practice on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, at Upper Moore Field. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)Austin Colbert\/The Aspen [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2447617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-25 04:21:47","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2447617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447617\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2447617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2447617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2447617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}