ORANGE PARK - Ridgeview High softball coach Angela Agurkis came on to the area softball scene last year and nearly pulled off the first-year miracle with an outstanding season for her rookie outing.
Agurkis, amongst a stellar group of three young, energetic coaches in the area; Ashley Houston, Middleburg and Heather Han, Oakleaf, who hope to turn the tables on a stable of veteran winners in Matt Lewis at Clay, Jessica Marquart at Keystone Heights, Lee Taylor at Orange Park and the husband-wife team of Jennifer and Baire Bucklew at Fleming Island.
With softball teams gearing up for 2024 off Monday's season-opening practices around the county, coaches are housing a boatload of talent on all teams that will make Clay County a tough place to steal wins from with Agurkis finishing 2023 with a 12-game win streak (after a 3-2 loss to Clay and a 15-5 loss to Middleburg just 10 days apart) and a region finals loss to Deltona in Class 5A.
Agurkis, 19-7 last year, won a district with a 2-0 win over Columbia, then was the lone team standing at the region 1-5A final that saw a bracket with three Clay County teams; Ridgeview, Orange Park, and Middleburg all in play, with Agurkis getting Lewis at Clay in the region semifinals and Houston exiting in round one to eventual 5A runnerup Deltona. Deltona also extinguished Agurkis' hopes in the region final.
Players on the fringe of state medal probably include, at Clay, Kendyll Mann and Bailey Parker as returners with big bats; at Middleburg, a slew of young returners including pitchers Morgan Beckham and Lily Bennett, infielder Kaelyn Hagan, the Johnson sisters, Caylee and Carly, plus hitters Alyssa Prather and Kerry Clarida that give Houston a power-packed lineup that should play stifling defense.
Lewis loses the arm of Gabby Ellis to Mercer University and that's a big hole to fill.
Agurkis loses everything playmaker Mary Girgis and hitter Kaitlyn Watts, but returns excitable Haylee McCrae who was a spark plug with her 28 runs batted in off a 15-double season. Girgis' savvy on the basepaths will be the hardest hole to fill for Agurkis; nine steals but a lot of extra-base singles from alert baserunning. Freshman pitcher, now a sophomore, Siage Bialek was a force last year (92Ks) and will be a year stronger.
At Oakleaf, coach Heather Han had one of the strongest schedules last year and survived the gauntlet to get a district title and two playoff games before succumbing to Hagerty in the region opener.
Han loses a bucket load of graduated talent including Ciara Gibson; 13 RBIs, speed in centerfield, and infielder Mariyah Sanchez, a Hoover in the dirt with 11 steals, 20 RBIs, 7 doubles, 4 triples, 1 HR with her bat.
The returners are a highlight reel with Mekayla Pettaway as a bonafide gamechanger, Amya Mirelez the big bat, junior pitcher Charley Maddox stellar on the hill while damaging in the batter's box (.409, 17RBIs/86Ks, 1.77 ERA).
Out at Keystone Heights, coach Jessica Marquart has had the knack of strong finishes for the Lady Indians; 4-3 to Baldwin and 2-1 to Middleburg losses in the final week of the season, which amped up season for district to region run.
Marquart responded with a three-game win slate that got a district title and a region bid despite a 9-18 season record. The koolaid was gone in a 15-1 region quarters loss that ended the season, but Marquart can bank that, with senior highlight reel Kiley Channell (32RBIs, 8HRs, gone to graduation, the rest of the team is intact. A host of now-seniors; outfielder Abbie Roach, pitcher freshman sensation Kadence Massey-Hoadley (93Ks), and hitter Alaina Kinsall (.458, 19RBIs) all return with big game experience to make Keystone Heights a highly volatile opponent.
Orange Park coach Lee Taylor had one of his better seasons in the past decade, 15-7, and with a ton of returners, the Raiders could be a force among the district 2-5A neighbors of Middleburg and Ridgeview.
Among the young players returning are junior basher Zoe Pascoe (.530, 22RBIs, 2HRs) and senior Mckenna Bejarano (.377, 17RBIs, 5 doubles, 1 triple). Bejarano was a machine on the mound with 175 strikeouts off a 1.49 ERA (that's throwing the mustard).
The Bucklews at Fleming Island got kind of slighted at the end of their season with a thrilling 4-3 loss in the district 3-5A championship game to Ponte Vedra who wound up socked by Ridgeview in the region quarters while Fleming Island stayed home.
That being said, Fleming Island should have a good chip on its shoulders in 2024 with a bevy of sophomore talents returning amidst two seniors gone; Alexis Bucklew, one of the lead batters for her parents (.397, 12RBIs). The returners are led by the fiery attitude of Jenna Moreland, a junior and Mallory Blackwell on the mound (46Ks, 2.33 ERA). Olivia Sikes is a lead hitter coming back (.410) with Lauren Abram at .328 the big bat with six doubles, a triple and a homer. Senior Ella Morris had two homers for Fleming Island last year with one double and one triple bringing 14 runs batted in.