By ERIC BENEVIDES

Sports writer

The high school softball season is less than a week old, and most enthusiasts are labeling last season’s state champions -- Division I’s La Salle Academy, Division II’s Moses Brown School, and Division III’s Tolman High -- as this year’s ‘teams to beat’ and the preseason favorites to repeat as champs.
But there are also plenty of teams, especially a handful of quality clubs from the Blackstone Valley, that should give those favorites a run for their money and could find themselves playing for a state title come June.
Here a look at the three divisions and the area’s teams that will take the field and strive for successful seasons:

Division I
Parody was the name of the game in this 17-team division last season, with only five games separating the regular season co-champions -- La Salle and Bay View Academy (13-3) -- from the two squads tied for 10th place -- East Providence High and St. Raphael Academy (8-8).
“Last year, there was a lot of parody, and I think it’s going to be similar this year,” said Mount St. Charles Academy coach Cliff Matthews. “Anyone will be able to beat anyone on any given day. It’s Division I. We’ve all lost some (graduated players), but we’re going to be competitive.”
Matthews believes that the Rams, who are paced by All-State senior pitcher Jordan Tingley (who is headed for St. John’s University), and the Bengals, who have All-State senior shortstop Kristen Mitchell (who has a scholarship to Lehigh University), will again battle for the top spot in the standings. 
“I think there’s some separation at the top with those teams,” said Matthews. “I know their coaches are trying to downplay what they have, but I wouldn’t mind having their horses.”
The Mounties, who posted a 10-6 record and were tied for sixth place in the standings with Cumberland High, may have the youngest club in the league. They lost seven starters, and in last week’s season-opening 2-0 victory over Lincoln High, they rolled out a lineup that contained four sophomores and two freshmen.
Senior right fielder and All-Division pick Eliza Foresti and junior second baseman Erica Fletcher bring experience to the Mounties’ attack, and the two freshmen, twin sisters Olivia (pitcher) and Emily (shortstop) Hendricks, promise to be standouts to keep an eye on in the coming years.
The Clippers, who have notched double digits in victories in four of the last five seasons, should be near the top of the league again with a talented team that features senior tri-captains Lyndsey Martins (pitcher/first base), Casey McDonald (center field), and Sarah Beauregard (right field) and one of the top sophomore players in the state in All-Division shortstop Bethany Paul.
There’s a new look in the coaching ranks at East Providence and SRA, as Brian Petsch takes over for the Townies, replacing Rob Traverse (who has decided to take a season off from coaching), and Joe Wilson switches from Davies Tech to the Saints to take over for Mo Jackson (who went to Shea).  
The Townies welcome back a core of players, with senior shortstop Marion Potter, junior right fielder Ashley Curti, and senior catcher Lauren Ghazal entering their third season as starters. Potter or Curti may be called upon to replace graduated ace Kelley Clancy on the mound.
Depth could be a huge problem for the Saints, who only have 12 players on their roster, more than half with no varsity experience. Senior third baseman Emily Wilcox, who earned a scholarship to the University of Delaware, and senior outfielder and three-sport standout Christina Hopper lead the attack.
The Lions, like the Mounties, have a young, but talented ballclub, one that should improve on their 6-10 record from a year ago. Their battery of senior pitcher Jessica Borden and junior catcher Brianna Ferri were All-Division picks, and shortstop Barbara Jackson and left fielder Alyssa McCoart lead a solid sophomore class.
Woonsocket High won just a total of five games in the past two seasons, but the Novans will try to return to their winning ways behind a lineup that also rivals MSC in terms of youth. Tiara Bottachiari is the lone senior on a roster full of sophomores and juniors, and juniors Nicole Boucher and Dominique Sevigny give the Villa Novans two experienced pitchers.

Division II
Moses Brown is the division’s premier team for good reason -- the Quakers boast All-State junior pitcher Liz Kacz, who had a division-best 0.63 earned run average and struck out an astounding 310 batters.
But which teams will challenge the Quakers’ quest for a repeat? Smithfield coach Tony Torregrossa, whose crew has won 41 regular-season games over the past three years, believes only time will answer that question.
“With the other teams, you don’t know,” added Torregrossa. “It’s hard to tell from year to year. Johnston always has a pretty good team, West Warwick is always competitive, Classical always has good pitching, and Ponaganset’s going to be good again. It’s early in the year, so we’ll see what happens.”
The Sentinels only has one senior, Second-Team All-State shortstop Ashlee Martin, but a ton of experienced juniors and sophomores that should again keep the Sentinels in the hunt for the Division II-North title.
All-Division pitcher Cassie Acciaioli and speedy second baseman Reanna Votta highlight the juniors, and right fielder Katie Reall and third baseman Brianna Haberle key the sophomores. 
Ponaganset High went 13-5 last season to finish second in the division and own its first winning record in its 12 years as a fastpitch team, and with six seniors and four juniors on its roster, the club should again be in the mix for the division title.
Right now, the Chieftains have a couple of preseason injuries that they are dealing with, but they are solid with senior All-Division pitcher Courtney Piccirillo, All-Division second baseman Nicole Ricci, center fielder Kaitlyn Lennon, and third baseman Mackenzie Quint.
Burrillville High, which is starting its seventh season in the fast-pitch ranks and averaging eight victories over the past three years, posted a 3-2 victory over Classical in last week’s season opener and hope to hit double digits in victories. Senior All-Division standouts Jen Kent and Kris Gingell lead the Broncos.
North Smithfield High has fallen on tough times over the past two seasons, with just a total of five wins to show for its efforts, but the Lady Northmen hope to turn their fortunes around this year. Four players to watch are the senior battery of pitcher Kaitlyn Vadenais and All-Division catcher Marissa Mercier, senior Sarah Mundy, and junior All-Division pick Audra Cornell.

Division III
The team with the best chance to repeat as state champs is the Tigers, who return hands down the best pitcher in the division in Macayla Kirylo. The flame-thrower fired seven no-hitter and struck out more than 200 batters to help lead the Tigers to an unbeaten season.   
The Tigers, who are 33-2 in their two fast-pitch seasons, lost a handful of their starters to graduation, but still welcomed back some key contributors, with seniors Erin Girouard and Kayla Therriault and junior Tabatha Ghazal atop the list. Kirylo, Girouard, and Ghazal were All-Division selections.
Kirylo struck out 13 batters en route to a season-opening no-hitter last week against crosstown rival Shea High, and freshman Alexandra Lacoste led the  way offensively.
Speaking of the Raiders, they will kick off the Mo Jackson era with a young team that contains just three seniors and a wealth of promising players.
Sophomore catcher Abigale Rodriguez, who had a strong freshman season, and junior outfielder Genesis Parilla lead the offensive attack, and Jackson will be relying on junior pitchers Kristen Potter and Kelsey Davenport.  
One team to watch out for is Davies, which is coming off back-to-back 13-5 seasons and sparked by two All-Division players, junior pitcher Jen March and senior catcher Shannon Bettencourt, who form one of the division’s top batteries.
March, like Kirylo, tossed a no-hitter in her team’s season opener last week by silencing Hope High, and seniors Mariana Giraldo and Jenny Diaz join Bettencourt as key offensive threats for the Patriots.
Central Falls High, which has notched 7-11 and 9-9 records in its two fast-pitch seasons, hopes to take the next step and produce a winning campaign behind a lineup that features All-Division junior Halie Webb, sophomores Solyris Vega and Melanie Velez, and a few talented freshmen.
Bishop Keough High also hopes to rack up its share of victories behind an experienced 13-player roster that includes seven seniors and four juniors.