TEMPE, Ariz. -- After missing out on the playoffs by one game last year, McClintock’s varsity softball team is charging into the 2020 season with a major chip on its shoulder.

Last year, the Chargers ended the season 4-8 in their region and 8-10 overall, finishing fifth among the Northeast Valley region.

Four seniors lead the team, two of which are returning to their varsity spots while the other two are stepping up from the junior varsity program.

The rest of the team is young and will need to step up big for the Chargers, who lost four-year starting pitcher Jordyn Ayala to injury during the first week of practice.

“That is kind of an obstacle, but we’ve got a couple of young kids, a sophomore and a freshman,” said head coach Charlie Marshall. “Hopefully they build into what we’ve had in the past. They’re both pretty good, but replacing a girl like that who would take the ball every game and go compete for you is a hard thing to do.”

Key players include second baseman and shortstop Jianna Martinez and senior center fielder and shortstop Myranda Sandifer, who was selected as an honorable mention to the 5A Northeast Valley All-region team for the 2018-19 season.

The Chargers will face tough competition among upper tier schools Cactus Shadows, Desert Mountain and Horizon in their region, but are not underestimating opponents North Canyon, Notre Dame Prep and Paradise Valley. They will also match up against out-of-region schools such as Marcos de Niza, Gilbert, Independence, Sierra Linda, and their rival school, Tempe High.

“We are hoping early in the season we can get girls to play and get that game-time experience and hopefully getting a couple of wins under our belt will set us up in a positive way,” said Marshall. “But we have the pieces to compete and they know it. They know that if we do the small stuff and we do our job, the rest of it will take care of itself.”

Those small details are different for each player and come with many goals that they hope to accomplish this year. From hitting a home run to preparing for the next level, the Chargers look to use their personal goals as motivation to put in the work.

“We are doing a good job placing people in positions that they’ve never played before, and we have the talent out there,” said Sandifer. “We just need everybody to work hard to play that position and understand what to do when the ball is hit to them.”

For the Chargers, having a successful season will mean perfecting details that will lead to the bigger picture: the playoffs.

“Winning in the playoffs is great and getting there is a goal that this program hasn’t seen in a while,” said Marshall. “It is absolutely attainable with this group of girls, so priority No. 1 is getting to the postseason.”

Marshall believes the team has to get past letting mistakes get the best of them and moving forward to get to the next play to secure a spot in the playoffs.

Apart from their postseason goals, the McClintock Chargers always value their friendship and having fun on the field. The overall mood among the girls for the upcoming season is nothing short of excitement.

“I think the bond that we are all creating with each other is everything. It has been a rough couple of past years, but this year everybody is gelling and we are getting there finally,” said Martinez. “I think it’s going to be a good season and we’ll definitely have fun during games.”

McClintock’s season began with an 8-4 win against Williams Field on Wednesday. Next, they will participate in the 13th annual Krystin Diehl Tournament in Maricopa beginning Friday.