The Richmond Hill softball team has an experienced crop of returning players that could see the Wildcats still taking the field well into the fall.

“We’re excited,” Coach Angie Hummeldorf said. “Our senior class has played a huge role in our success and we’re expecting a big season.”

The Wildcats have won two consecutive region titles and made two consecutive trips to the Sweet 16, finishing last year at 20-11.

The Wildcats return six all-region players, including two all-state performers.

Adriana Garrett and Hannah Fitzgerald were voted to the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association All-State softball team as juniors.

Garrett, an outfielder, was named to the first team. She batted .493 and had an on-base percentage of .578. She struck out just two times all season and had a fielding percentage of .969.

Fitzgerald, a catcher, was voted to the second team. She hit .432 with 31 RBIs and had an on-base percentage of .494.

“They both hit the ball extremely well and have a high on-base percentage,” Hummeldorf said. “They can produce a lot of runs.”

Joining Garrett and Fitzgerald on the Region 2-AAAAAA first team were Haley Taylor and Alaina Lucas, with Madelyn Gorsuch and Cheznie Schuman picking up honorable mention.

Lucas and Schuman are juniors, while the other four are seniors.

Hummeldorf said she again expects Effingham to be the top competition in the region. The Wildcats and Rebels played three crucial games at the end of the 2016 season to decide the regular season champion, with Richmond Hill taking two of the three contests. The two teams will again play each other three times in the final week of the 2017 regular season.

“A lot of our girls play travel ball with their girls, so it’s a very competitive atmosphere,” Hummeldorf said. “Brunswick has also really improved and can be a tough, scrappy team.”

The Wildcats open the season at 6 p.m. Aug. 10 with a home game against South Effingham.