Offense will carry Cheney softball in the beginning

Cheney High softball head coach Gary Blake has had more than historically bad spring weather to deal with to start the 2017 season. He's also had personnel issues.

Originally, Blake anticipated 11 players returning from last year's team that went 13-11 and surprised everyone by getting hot down the stretch to capture the Lady Blackhawks second consecutive District 7 title. Cheney ended the season with a 9-2 loss to Selah in a glue-in game with the Central Washington Athletic Conference.

But, those returners didn't all materialize. One player is ineligible to play this year while two others, in...