They spent last year growing up.

A young bunch on the South Puget Sound League North Division diamond a year ago, the Kentwood High fastpitch team took its lumps.

But the Conquerors still qualified for the postseason for the sixth straight season, winning a pair of late-season loser-out contests — one over Thomas Jefferson and the other to Auburn Riverside — to nab the North’s fifth and final seed to the playoffs.

Now a year older and with considerable firepower returning, the Conquerors have a new outlook this spring.

That outlook is to contend in a North Division heavy on returners and slim on youngsters.

“I think we have more to prove to ourselves this year than anyone else,” said first baseman Breanne Cossey, an all-league honorable mention selection a year ago. “Last year was a building year for us … we went to state my sophomore year (in 2009) and we’re excited to get back.”

If the Conquerors are going to accomplish that goal, they will have to successfully traverse through a loaded SPSL North schedule. Yet, in a year when many teams return a bevy of top-flight talent, Kentwood is just as stacked as the rest. While Kentlake and Tahoma return a North Division High six all-leaguers each, the Conquerors aren’t far behind with five players who earned first-team, second-team or honorable mention accolades last season.

That being the case, the Conquerors have plenty of reason to be optimistic this spring.

“Everybody seems to pretty much reload and be ready to go. I think across the state, it will be hard to find a more competitive league (than the SPSL North) this year,” said coach Jason Wisor, who is now in his fourth season with the program. “My girls have a chip on their shoulders. They’re saying that we were young last year, that we made mistakes. The girls I have coming back … it’s a pretty committed group.”

And a pretty talented group, too.

Kentwood returns 11 players overall from last year, which essentially was a growth season for the Conquerors, who entered 2009 having graduated or lost a total of eight players who earned all-league honors. Leading the way will be Cossey, one of the few seniors on the team, who was among the league leaders with 16 runs scored last season. Adding to the firepower will be shortstop Bailey Marshall, a second-team all-leaguer last season who drove in 13 runs. Meanwhile, sophomore catcher Allison Newcomb quickly made a name for herself last season, blasting a school-record five home runs and posting a sweltering .356 batting average in league. But the display of offense hardly ends there as Kentwood also returns second-team all-leaguer Mackena Sherman, who ranked fifth in the league in RBIs (16) and doubles (5) to go along with a .377 batting average and three triples. Toss in workhorse pitcher Bethany Pfaff (4.03 ERA in 2010) and the Conquerors certainly have reason to believe big this spring.

“We’ve already grown by leaps and bounds from last year,” Marshall said. “We have people 1 through 9 who can hit. We have people in the spots where they’re comfortable. We knew last year was a building year for us. This year is not a building year. We’re going to prove to ourselves and everyone else that we can make it.”

No doubt, the talent is there for the Conquerors.

It’s also there, however, for many of their SPSL North counterparts.

“I’d like to think that we’re a top-three team in league,” Wisor said. “I think that’s where were at without any disrespect to the rest of the league. I think we have enough talent and tools to finish top three.

“I guess the pressure is now on me.”