SACO — Most teams would be looking at a serious rebuilding project after losing a group of seniors that won more games than any other class in school history.

Thornton Academy’s softball squad is not most teams.

Despite losing standout pitcher Bailey Tremblay, who won the Miss Maine Softball award last year, and all-stars Brooke Cross and Keira Fitzgerald, the Golden Trojans are ready to reload for another deep playoff run.

“(Our) goals are nothing short of states. That’s our goal every year. We don’t talk about making the playoffs, we talk about how do we get to the state (finals),” said Thornton Academy coach John Provost.

For the Trojans to reach their goal, they will need to find someone to fill the big cleats left by Tremblay, who won an incredible 46 games in the circle during her career at TA.

Provost will be looking to a trio of underclassmen – Olivia Howe, Journey Barnes and Louisa Colucci – to step up this season.

“At this point we’ve got a freshman and two sophomores and they are pretty much all going to see the ball this year,” said Provost.

Leading that group could be Howe, who as just a freshman, brings a ton of talent to the circle.

“She’s strong. It’s always tough for a freshman initially, but she’s strong, she’ll come out and she will be fine,” said Provost, who is happy to have two other talented pitchers on his roster. “It will be nice to be able to have some arms and it will be a little bit easier on Olivia, pretty much splitting up games.”

While the Trojans will be relying on three underclassmen to handle the pitching duties, Provost does bring back a large senior class, which should provide all the leadership they need.

“It’s always good to have … just to get that senior leadership is huge,” said Provost of seniors Kaylee Burns, Maizie Lee, Libby Pomerleau, Shelby Ross and Hayden Campbell. “They know what it takes every year to get through this league and get to the playoffs. It’s a good blend of leadership and youth, so it will be interesting.”

Provost will be looking for several freshman to step up in their first year at the varsity level.

“I’m looking for Olivia, Hannah Collins and Jenica Botting, my freshman catcher, so we have three freshmen that we are expecting big things from,” said Provost.

The TA coach knows that his team will have plenty of hurdles to overcome if the Trojans are going to make a deep playoff run.

“Scarborough’s there, Sanford’s there, Biddeford’s there, Windham’s going to surprise some people and Massabesic is going to make some noise,” said Provost.

Provost believes the state of softball in Maine is stronger than ever.

“It was always people used to talk about Scarborough and pretty much nothing else … and now, every year, you really have to talk about four or five teams and everyone’s competitive. It’s good for softball,” said Provost.

Provost is especially thrilled to see TA’s longtime rival Biddeford playing at such a high level.

“It’s a blast having their team so strong again, just for the Biddeford-Saco rivalry. It’s just fun. It’s always competitive and it’s good for softball,” said Provost.

Thornton Academy will open the 2016 regular season on Friday when Gorham makes the trip to Saco.

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @ JournalTsports.