POULSBO — What was once thought of as a rebuilding year for the North Kitsap Vikings fastpitch team has turned out to be quite the opposite.

One would assume that the team’s loss of dominant all-around player and Narrows MVP Heather Case, as well as commanding seniors Jamie Heins, Brenda Stice and Lisa Gilbert would leave gaping holes in the Viking lineup.

But a few surprise turn outs, a talented up-and-coming group and its junior leadership may again cause fastpitch fans to keep an eye on North Kitsap.

“It was such a rush last year, but the natural mindset was that it was over,” said NK Coach Dan Kolda. “However, as the season approached, all of the sudden, we realized we had a really good fill in here.”

While it is too early to tell how other Narrows teams are looking for the upcoming season, the defending Bridge champions acknowledge that, no matter what, they’ll be the target of the league at large.

“I love the feeling that we’re defending champions but as coach says, ‘We’ve got a bulls-eye on us,’” said senior captain Molly McCluskey. “But we’re going to have to work really hard to get (another Bridge title).”

Confidence among Vikings is still high and team members feel that as the season progresses, they’ll become just as good a squad as they were a year ago — if not better.

“We lost a lot of good players last year but I think we’ll make it up through the season,” said North Kitsap senior captain Chrystal Camus. “And I think we’ll go just as far as last year.”

The pitching staff will rotate around Rachael Kramer, who backed up Case last year, and Coreena Stout. Both play select ball throughout the year and are powerful hitters.

Another player who is expected to step up is Lauren Romero. Romero didn’t play for North Kitsap a year ago but has a lot of select team experience.

“Yeah, we’ve lost a lot of seniors,” Stout said, “But we’ve got a lot of good replacements.”

Among them are Josie Ball, Shayla Urie, Kayla King and Laurel Patton, each who have lengthy fastpitch resumes. The result is a well-rounded team.

“We have a lot of versatility,” Stout added. “We can use bunt and small play but we also have the power hitters.”

Whereas the 2003-04 team included stand-out threats, this year’s makeup will feature a much more spread-out line-up.

“We’re going to be a different team,” Kolda said. “What these girls bring to the table is a different style.”

Kolda added there are “no holes in the defense” and the team will rotate its lineup to include a couple JV players each game to see who steps up. That versatility, he said, was “a pleasant dilemma,” for the coaching staff.

“It’s gonna be who’s hitting, (who) is on the field,” he said.