By Glenn Sattell
Chronicle correspondent

She spoke with cautious optimism but it was obvious that Caney Creek softball coach Donna Papadimitriou was brimming with excitement. The Lady Panthers were off to a 7-3 start and look to compete for one of four playoff berths from District 18-4A.

“We’re off to a great start,” Papadimitriou said. “The girls are playing together.”

The Lady Panthers return almost intact from last season and have played exceptionally well in the early going.

“There’s a lot of team chemistry,” Papadimitriou said. “We have most of our kids back. We lost one to graduation but everyone else returns and they’re playing well and working hard in practice.

“With that extra year of experience, we think it’s been able to give us a little more confidence.”

Pitcher/first baseman Erica Barron is a senior standout who recently signed a college scholarship with Lon Morris Junior College. Seniors Ashley Davis (catcher/third base) and Emily Harvey (center field/second base) are also among the veteran leaders.

Juniors Britney Garza (third base) and Shiralyn Haesche (shortstop) are also being counted on heavily, while Haesche, who plays club ball for the Spring/Klein Hawks, is being heavily recruited.

Sophomores Macey Roberson (third base/first base), Laci Belovsky (pitcher), Ashlee Banister (first base), and Katy Marks (outfield) are included in the long list of contributors so far this season.

“The girls are doing really well right now,” Papadimitriou said. “They’re hitting the ball. We’re very offensive. We’re playing pretty good defense behind our pitching duo with Erica and Laci. We’re very fortunate this year.”

Barron and Haesche each had three hits, and Marks drove in two runs, in a 6-4 win over New Caney in the season opener, and the Lady Panthers have not looked back. Belovsky picked up the win, striking out nine along the way.

Barron followed up with a no-hitter in a 14-0 win over Madisonville, and the Lady Panthers split four games at the recent Klein Tournament in preparation for the start of District 18-4A play. Caney Creek defeated Klein Forest 11-2 behind seven strikeouts from Barron, who also had three hits at the plate, driving in two runs. They also turned back Baytown Lee 6-2.

The Lady Panthers suffered one-run losses to Kingwood (1-0) and Klein Oak (5-4).

But it all leads up to the district season. “We have a brutal district,” Papadimitriou said. “Everyone’s really competitive. We have solid playoff teams that are competitive every year.

“We know to expect that everyone is going to be competitive and they’re going to bring their own set of challenges for us. But we’re hoping to give them a new look this year and give them a little different challenge.”

Though the Lady Panthers are off to an outstanding start, Papadimitriou said she isn’t using the ‘P’ word just yet.

“We haven’t talked a whole lot about playoffs,” she said. “We’ve just been taking it one game at a time and we really wanted to get into district with some confidence and knowing that we can get the job done. We’re just really hoping that we can give everybody in our district a new look.”