With softball season kicking off this week in Illinois, here are five storylines to watch in the NewsTribune-area this spring.

Can La Salle-Peru get over the hump?

For six consecutive seasons, the La Salle-Peru softball team has played in a regional championship game, but for six straight seasons, the Cavaliers had their season end there.

The Cavs have had four 20-win seasons during that stretch, including a 30-6 record last spring.

With ace pitcher Taylor Vescogni returning along with several other NewsTribune All-Area players, will this be the year L-P breaks through and wins its first regional title since 2013?

Will St. Bede keep its success going?

St. Bede has been the premiere softball program in the area for about a decade.

The Bruins have won regional titles in six of the last seven seasons and have won three sectional titles and two state trophies, including the 2022 Class 1A state championship, during that span.

Last season, the Bruins went 16-12 and advanced to the Class 2A IVC Sectional championship game where they lost to Brimfield 4-1.

St. Bede returns four NewsTribune All-Area players and several other key players from last year’s team, putting the Bruins in position to make another postseason run.

Will Henry-Senachwine reload after last seasons success?

Last spring, Henry-Senachwine had the best season in school history, winning a school-record 25 games and claiming the program’s first sectional championship before losing 2-0 to Dakota in the supersectional.

While the Mallards will return quite a few starters from that team, including NewsTribune All-Area infielder Brynna Anderson, Henry also lost its two best players in Illinois Coaches Association All Staters Lauren Harbison and Kaitlyn Anderson.

Harbison was Henry’s ace pitcher and leadoff hitter - earning NewsTribune Softball Player of the Year - while Anderson was the catcher and No. 3 hitter who belted nine home runs.

With it’s returning players and newcomers, can the Mallards fill their big voids and have another strong season?

Will new coach Jessica Strauch lead Princeton to new heights?

La Salle-Peru alumnus and former Cavalier assistant Jessica Strauch takes over as Princeton’s coach after Jhavon Hayes left to become the hitting coach at Illinois State University.

Strauch inherits a team with 10 players returning who saw significant time for last year’s team that went 15-12 overall and finished 8-2 in the Three Rivers Conference East Division. The Tigresses lost to Morrison in the regional final last season.

Under Strauch, Princeton is hoping to make a postseason run and win the program’s second regional title. The first came in 2019.

Who will rise to the top?

With the graduation of Harbison, who is now playing at IVCC, the title of NewsTribune Softball Player of the Year is up for grabs.

There are many talented players in the area who have the opportunity to earn it.

Vescogni has to be considered one of the favorites. The Colgate recruit was 19-3 with a 1.10 ERA and 249 strikeouts last season as she was named Interstate 8 Conference Player of the Year.

The Cavs have several other talented returning players who could be in the mix in Karmen Piano (.400 average, 15 2B, 38 runs, 19 RBIs, 39 steals), Anna Riva (.377, 7 HR, 13 2B, 39 R, 35 RBI), Kelsey Frederick (5 HR, 32 R, 27 RBI) and MaKenzie Chamberlain (.376, 5 HR, 8 2B, 31 RBI).

St. Bede’s Lily Bosnich is a double threat in the spring as an all-state hurdler and softball player. She can do it all on the softball field. Last year, she hit .472 with six home runs, four triples, 31 runs, 18 steals and 17 RBIs.

Henry junior Brynna Anderson could take on a larger role with the graduation of her sister. Last year she hit .386 with eight doubles, three triples, two home runs, 20 RBIs and 20 runs.

Princeton junior Avah Oertel was the area’s top power hitter last season, smacking 12 home runs and driving in 43 RBIs. She hit .474 and scored 32 runs. She can also pitch, going 4-4 with a 3.35 ERA.

Fieldcrest junior TeriLynn Timmerman is a hitting machine. She had an area-best .658 average last spring along with eight doubles, four triples and two home runs.

Earlville’s Addie Scherer is a strong all-around hitter who had a .655 average, six homers, three triples, six doubles, 30 RBIs and 23 runs last year while going 9-9 in the circle with a 2.30 ERA and 128 strikeouts.

Princeton’s Caroline Keutzer and Keely Lawson, Hall’s Caroline Morris, St. Bede’s Macy Strauch and Putnam County’s Kennedy Holocker could also be in the mix, or it could be a newcomer who emerges.