Most often, returning seven of nine starters from a previous season’s softball team is a great thing. Yet when your team is still one of the youngest in a division that features several of the top teams in the Shore Conference, the players’ previous experience is a benefit, but the climb toward the top remains quite steep.

“Simply based upon last season, B South could again prove to be the toughest top-to-bottom division in the Shore,” said Barnegat coach Michael Palmieri, whose Bengals a year…