After Chelsea Garcia graduated in the spring and accepted a scholarship to play softball at Oklahoma State, coach Robert Wakefield was worried. He didn’t know for sure he had anyone on his roster that could replace the intangibles, numbers and leadership that Garcia had brought to the team.

In her four year career at shortstop, Garcia led the Lions to four state titles and eight appearances in the state’s fastpitch and slowpitch tournaments. As a senior she compiled a .464 batting average with five home runs and 40 runs batted in on the season.

Those are hard numbers to duplicate. But Stefani Schubach is not trying to recreate what Garcia did. She is finding her own way to contribute to the team.

“She is a player that has had big shoes to fill at shortstop and has handled it very well this year,” Wakefield said. “She has been very consistent at shortstop and has been hitting well the past week. Her speed and the pressure she puts on the defense with it are her strengths.”

Schubach is no stranger to pressure. She came up with several big plays for Moore as they cruised to the 2007 fastpitch title. Wakefield looks for her to do the same this time around as the Lions defend their title.

“Hopefully she will continue to do the things she has all season long to help this team be as good as possible,” Wakefield said. “What stands out about her is her willingness to do what it takes to help her team in many ways.”

Schubach and the Lions will begin defense of their title Oct. 7 with the start of the regional tournament.

The Lions will hold its regional tournament at Moore High. Edmond Memorial, Norman and U.S. Grant will be competing to make it out of the bracket and into the state tourney.

Moore concludes the regular season Thursday when they host Norman North. It will be the third game this week for the Lions.

If Moore (26-2) sweeps its final three games, they will end the season with a 29-2 record. But North could provide a few problems for the Lions. The two teams hooked up last week and MHS edged out a 3-2 victory.

“Brianna Nunley pitched well after the first inning and kept using the game,” Wakefield said. “Sydney Garcia got a key hit to start the top of the eighth and they made an error that led to us scoring a couple of runs in that inning.”

Despite their record, the MHS coaching staff has not been thrilled with the team’s play recently. And they know the team must play better if they are to win their third fastpitch title in four years.

“We are having our ups and downs defensively right know,” Wakefield said. “We are making too many errors right now but we are working on that. We have to get back to the basics of good pitch and defense.”