The St. Thomas softball team returns its full arsenal of pitchers from last season’s NCAA Division-III tournament team, and after key losses from its roster, the team will likely need its hurlers to carry the load early to make up for an inexperienced lineup.

The Tommies lost 10 seniors from last year’s team, including two captains – catcher Emily Gregory and shortstop Jenna Hoffman. The team also lost one of its main offensive contributors when designated hitter Brenna Walek transferred to play at the University of Minnesota.

The departures may leave coach John Tschida relying on his veteran pitching staff while he waits for the next stars to emerge.

“You need a lot of unproven players to step up. I don’t even know who those players are going to be because we are so new into the season, but you need someone to step up and say, not only am I ready for the stage, but I’m ready to dominate at that stage,” Tschida said. “We don’t even have any idea of what we have for offense or who’s going to play where, but we do know our pitchers and what they can do … I would assume that will be our strong point.”

The returning pitchers, seniors Kendra Bowe, Annie Boyer and Breezy Bannon, as well as junior Katie Jo Delisle, combined for 34 of the Tommies’ 40 wins last season.

Having so many returning pitchers is something the Tommies’ ace, Bowe, feels will help the team continue its winning ways and allow the younger players to thrive.

“I think that gives us more confidence in knowing that we’re going to be even stronger from a pitching standpoint,” Bowe said. “Because of that, in theory, we only have to score one or two runs because we’re going to be able to shut teams down defensively.”

While the staff should be the focal point going forward due to uncertainty in the lineup, both Boyer and Tschida are excited to see the team’s improvement.

“We are missing a lot of power hitters, but we still have a lot of great hitters in our lineup, and we’re developing some incredible players too that are some of the younger players,” Boyer said. “It’s kind of exciting because it’s a brand new start. Everybody is really eager, and I think that energy will bring us to a good season.”

St. Thomas will open this year ranked No. 13 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s 2015 Division-III softball preseason poll after closing last season at No. 3. Tschida is aware of the substantial roster turnover but stressed his excitement in finding the program’s next key contributors.

“There’s a lot of work to be done, but that’s the fun part of coaching. You don’t always have the team that’s been around for four years. The kids have talent coming in, but it’s a big adjustment to play at the college level,” Tschida said. “Without everyone back, it’s exciting because you don’t know who the next star is going to be.”

Some returning players needing to step into bigger roles this year include outfielder Bianca Peterson and second baseman Meg DuPuis, both of whom started during last year’s postseason run.

Given all the change, Bowe recognizes this year’s team will have a different identity from the one that qualified for last year’s national tournament.

“We have to realize that we don’t have to be the team we were last year to be successful,” Bowe said. “It’s so easy to look back and see all the success we had last year … but to not have to find that as our identity and accepting that that’s not who we are, that’s the key.”

While it is still very early in the season, Tschida feels his team is already on the right track.

“You have to be a deep team and a good team all around to win it all. But pitching is where to start,” Tschida said.

St. Thomas will open the season Feb. 27 against Buena Vista (Iowa) in the Irish Sports Dome in Rosemount, Minnesota.

Scott Sikich can be reached at siki3549@stthomas.edu.