A lack of bodies and a plethora of unanswered questions surround the Oak Harbor fastpitch softball team as they head into 2005.

Several athletes moved away after last year and others opted not to play this season, leaving head coach Rayna Trahan in an uncomfortable predicament.

“We only have 27 girls out for the whole program,” she said. “I’m a little frustrated that this is the smallest number we’ve had since I’ve been here.”

Lost, are starting pitcher from last year, Ashley Howard and infielder Anna McGrath, whose families moved away.

Several other key components won’t play this year by choice, including shortstop Ashley Kingma and speedy outfielder Aimee Martin.

The Wildcats won’t, however, be completely left without veteran leadership.

Libbe Bear will return as the team’s lone senior and is expected to solidify the catcher position.

Also coming back are Lindsey Bear, who will play second base and pitcher, and Jorgie Moen and Sarah Meagher, whose positions were still to be decided earlier this week.

Lindsey Bear and sophomore Lindsey Knaus are expected to handle the pitching duties for Oak Harbor.

In a sport where pitching the name of the game, Trahan is slightly concerned about the youth and varsity inexperience at the position.

“I’m just hoping they can put it across the plate,” she said. “I’m not really looking for speed or a variety of pitches.”

Other young players who could impact the team this year are Courtney Brown and Kristin Simon.

The WesCo North will be tough as always, with Marysville-Pilchuck, Mount Vernon and Lake Stevens expected to lead the way.

Although winning in a traditionally tough league could be difficult, it’s not the only thing Trahan wants to see from the Wildcats.

“I’m just hoping we can remain competitive like we did last year,” she said, referring to a 1-19 season. “The one or two run games were hard to lose, but at the same time it was so much more fun to be in a game like that than a 10-0 or 11-1 game where you don’t get to finish the seven innings.”

Oak Harbor plays its first game under the lights, Monday, March 21 at Everett. They return home for their first home game the following day at 3:30 p.m. to face non-league Ferndale.