New year for Royal softball after state championship

ROYAL CITY — Coach Lisa Lawrence said the Royal Knights softball team will be one to watch in 2025, although they have some holes from the team that won the state championship in 2024.  

“We take every year as a new year, basically. We’ve got to rebuild,” Lawrence said. “We have a lot of returning players, which I’m very thankful for, but we’ve got some holes that we’ve got to fill in. Two years ago, we took second; last year, we took first. We’re just approaching it the same way, starting from the ground up, filling holes, not taking anything for granted or looking too far ahead. We’ve got a long season ahead of us.” 

Pitcher is a key position in softball, and junior Jill Allred returns to the circle for Royal. Allred pitched every inning of the 2024 season.  

“She’s a great leader on the team. She’s an outstanding pitcher, tremendous hitter and just really an anchor for program success right now,” Lawrence said.  

Allred was an all-league selection in the South Central Athletic Conference, and she was joined by three others — Audrey Bergeson, Lily Delarosa and Emerson Eilers —on the all-league team.  

But the Knights lost four-year starters at catcher, shortstop and left fielder. A senior was the team’s leadoff hitter; another was fourth in the batting order, which traditionally goes to the strongest hitter. Lawrence said filling those holes will be one of the challenges.  

“A lot of our (junior varsity) girls are still developing, but we do have a few stepping up. We have a few freshmen stepping up. I told the JV players that we’ve got holes to fill and - we’ll see; it's still early in the season to know for sure – if people are stepping up and performing well, they might have an opportunity.” 

Royal opens the season with a jamboree with Warden and Othello on Wednesday afternoon. Warden finished second in the Class 1B state tournament in 2024, and Othello is a perennial contender in the Class 2A Central Washington Athletic Conference. Lawrence said a tough nonconference schedule pays dividends as the season progresses. 

“I try to build a really competitive schedule. We play Moses Lake; we play Eastmont, we play some tough schools,” Lawrence said. “This year, because our league has a few more teams, we don’t have as many non-league games to work in. So I’m thankful that the teams we will be playing hopefully will prepare us for the postseason.” 

Royal High School Softball Schedule  

Wed March 12 vs. Othello High School with one other 3 p.m. 

Sat March 15 vs. Cashmere High School 11 a.m./1 p.m. 

Tue March 18 @ Wahluke High School 3 p.m./5 p.m. 

Sat March 22 @ Zillah High School 11 a.m./1 p.m. 

Tue March 25 vs. Othello High School 4 p.m. 

Sat March 29 vs. Wapato High School 11 a.m./1 p.m. 

Sat April 12 Warden/Adna/Royal 3 games total 

Tue April 15 vs. College Place High School 3 p.m./5 p.m. 

Sat April 19 College Place High School 1A Eastside Softball Showcase 9 a.m. 

Tue April 22 @ Kiona Benton City High School 3 p.m./5 p.m. 

Tue April 29 @ Connell High School 3 p.m./5 p.m. 

Fri May 2 vs. Naches Valley High School 3 p.m./5 p.m. 

    Junior Jill Allred returns as Royal’s starting pitcher. Allred pitched every inning in 2024.
  

    Junior Emerson Eilers throws out a runner in the 2024 state playoffs. Eilers will be one of the key players for the defending state champion Royal Knights.
  

    Royal senior Lily Delarosa is one of all-league players returning for the 2025 season.