EDGARD — Though West St. John struggled through a rebuilding season on the softball field, coach Derek Lamothe is optimistic better days are ahead.

“We’ve got some promising young ladies on our team,” Lamothe said.

“The season was kind of disappointing, obviously, but I think we have some cornerstones to build around.”

The graduations of several key players from last year’s Rams team, which narrowly missed the postseason after a string of playoff appearances, contributed to a 1-14 season in 2015, but the season wasn’t without standouts. Senior Tre’Shaun Trench wrapped up a strong Rams career, most recently racking up four hits, three doubles and five RBIs in a slugfest with East Iberville, a 31-24 loss. Fellow senior Kaieonne Sorapuru had two triples, two doubles and six RBIs in the game.

Lamothe noted 8th grader Shiaa Thomas plays shortstop and pitcher, and Lamothe believes she will be a big part of the Rams’ attack next season. Likewise, sophomore outfielder Jaquisha Oates has shown great improvement over the course of the season, he said.

“We’re going to get our girls in summer league play and earn them some game experience,” Lamothe said. “Right now, that’s the most important thing. A lot of our girls have just started playing.”

Run prevention will be the biggest specific focus heading into next season; the loss of 2014 senior pitcher Sydnei Young left the biggest void for this year’s team.

“We need to improve on the mound, first and foremost,” Lamothe said. “Beyond that, we’ll focus on improving our overall fundamentals. Offensively, I think we have the ability. Against a good team, we hit the ball much better.

“We tended to play up and down to competition a little bit. That comes down to experience.”