The Lady Trojans spent a few days in the warmth of Florida tuning up for the high school softball season. Their four games at Disney’s Wide World of Sports facility in Orlando proved fruitful as they went 3-1 on the trip with the only loss coming to Immaculate Heart Academy of New Jersey in their opening game.

Having won four of the last five District 11 championships and five straight EPC titles, Parkland looks to repeat its success again this season. As usual, the team took some losses from graduation, but coach Barry Search will seek to mold younger players into those spots to keep the program as successful as it has been.

With last week’s opening EPC games pushed back, the Trojans weren’t affected since they were basking in the Florida sunshine. When things got back to normal for the team and they had to face the cold Pennsylvania weather for their opener on Tuesday, it had a very familiar feeling.

It was almost a year to the day when the Trojans opened last season with a 2-0 loss to Bethlehem Catholic. At that time, Search talked about the team being a “work in progress,” but it still went on to win 24 games, the most since 29 wins in 2015, a season that culminated with a state championship.

This year’s EPC schedule opened with a 2-0 loss to Northampton. The Konkrete Kids got two runs in the bottom of the second and were able to hang on from there, holding the Lady Trojans to five hits throughout the game, two of which came from Isabella Polash.

Parkland returns top starter Kelly Dulaney from last year’s team and she pitched well in the opener, going six innings and striking out five batters while walking just one.

Dulaney enters her senior season as one of the top pitchers in the area. Through four games, Dulaney has allowed just three earned runs in 26 innings of work, striking out 30 hitters.

Sophomore Katie Zaun has thrown two innings and has not allowed an earned run. Dulaney will have a new catcher to work with this season. With the graduation of Ashley Gallina, junior Giana Schick takes over behind the plate.

Three of the four infielders are newcomers, with Kylie Hlay taking over at first base, Olivia Ondrejca at second and Nicole Klasa at short. Camryn Fritsch, Ali Superka and Polash will all see increased time from last season.

Among players with at least eight at-bats, senior Megan Fenstermaker is the team’s leading hitter with a .600 average, followed by Polash (.500), Renee Snyder (.400), Dulaney (.385) and Caroline Rivera (.375). As a team, the Lady Trojans are batting a healthy .290 through four games.

Parkland will host Central Catholic Thursday and then host a tough Nazareth team, which figures to present the biggest challenge to Parkland repeating in the EPC Skyline Division, on Monday. The Trojans face Emmaus, an up and coming division rival, next Wednesday.