It may be early, but the Conant softball team is atop the Division III standings and off to a hot start this spring.

The Orioles are now 3-0 on the season following wins over Hopkinton, Hillsboro-Deering and Trinity that saw some good defense and better bats.

“Our infield and outfield are both great,” said senior co-captain Francesca Ketola after Wednesday’s 9-1 win over Hillsboro-Deering. “We can step up to the plate and hit it anywhere. People are definitely going to look and think we’re a small team, but we have great hitters, a great lineup and I for sure think that we can do great things.”

Conant held on for a 4-3 win at Hopkinton April 14 to open the season before returning home to rout Hillsboro-Deering and then walk off against Trinity 7-6 Thursday.

“We’ve been working pretty hard,” senior co-captain Lola Hayes said. “We’ve been ready for our first home game, like it’s our last first home game for us seniors. So we were ready to get started and that got us off to a good start.”

The Orioles, under first-year head coach Kerry Linstad, have a rock-solid infield with Ketola and Hayes on the corners, junior slugger Violet Bennett behind the plate, junior co-captain Sophia Spingola at short and junior Khloe Kirby at second. The outfield is younger but still strong, with good speed. Merry Hill’s in center, Ella Desrosier’s in left and Mackenzie McFarland is in right.

On the mound, Conant turns to senior Shayla Seppala, who has pitched every inning so far and picked up three wins with 25 strikeouts.

Ketola led the Orioles past Hopkinton with two doubles and two RBI. Desrosier drove in another run with a triple and Seppala supplied the other.

Conant dominated H-D, as Seppala allowed just one earned run with 12 strikeouts and a walk. The Orioles and Hillcats battled through an unseasonable spring snowstorm and frigid winds, and it was Conant who found the most success.

“We had to make the most out of it,” Ketola said. “We knew that if we messed up and tried to blame the cold, we could slip up at any moment. We know we have to work hard this year for any win.”

Hill and Seppala drove in three runs apiece, while Bennett (triple, two RBI) and Spingola (one RBI) both narrowly missed home runs.

Thursday’s contest with Trinity was more of a nail-biter, but it was Kirby – frustrated at the plate the previous game – who came through in the clutch, driving in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh after the Pioneers briefly took the lead.

Seppala drove in another two runs in the win and Spingola drove in one.

It’s certainly a strong start to the season for Conant, but it’s the end of the season that has been a concern. Last year’s first-round playoff loss to Bishop Brady was their sixth-straight first round exit; the Orioles have not won a playoff game since 2017.

“Our goal always is to make it past the first round of playoffs,” Hayes said. “I don’t remember the last time we’ve done that in softball, so let’s try to make it a first for our last year. That would just be amazing, to make it past the first round.”

Conant (3-0) was scheduled to play at Newport Monday after press time and host Winnisquam Wednesday afternoon.