There’s no use trying to avoid the subject.

The Western Kentucky softball team has major adjustments to make after the graduation of star pitcher Miranda Kramer.

“Obviously it’s a big loss,” WKU coach Amy Tudor said. “It’s hard to replace an All-American that led the nation in strikeouts.”

The Lady Toppers must move forward without Kramer and six other starters from last season, the most successful campaign in program history.

WKU begins anew Friday with two games in Auburn’s Tiger Invitational. It’ll open against Appalachian State at 3 p.m., followed by a game against No. 4 Auburn at 5:30 p.m.

Bringing 10 newcomers into the fold while also maintaining expectations is the challenge for the Lady Tops. 

They went 36-14 in 2015, winning the Conference USA championship and coming within one game of advancing to their first NCAA Super Regional.

“Just because the look will be different, the expectation stays the same,” junior utility player Kathryn Downing said. We got “a taste of what that felt like last year, and we don’t expect to settle for anything less.”

But that’s easier said than done, especially without the dominating left arm of Kramer to keep opponents out of sorts.

Kramer, who’s now a student assistant coach for WKU along with former catcher Dani Pugh, took the scene by storm last year in her one year with the program as a transfer.

She won 26 games and finished the season with 439 strikeouts and a 1.24 ERA, both the second-best single-season marks in C-USA history.

The Lady Tops rode Kramer all the way to the NCAA Regional at Georgia, where the Bulldogs eventually eliminated WKU after Kramer suffered a cut finger on her throwing hand. She threw more than 70 percent of the team’s innings last season.

“We’re not going to replace Miranda Kramer with Miranda Kramer,” Downing said. “It’s going to be a different look, and it’s going to take a committee. We’re going to have play as a team and win a little differently than we did last year.

“I have the same confidence in our staff this year as I did last year. Last year, we relied on a horse. It’s not going to be that way, but it definitely has the ability to be just as successful.”

WKU has five pitchers on staff who will have to collectively fill the void left by Kramer, Tudor said.

That includes sophomore left-hander Hannah Parker, the team’s most experienced returning hurler. Parker went 6-1 last year with 36 strikeouts and a 4.82 ERA in 56 innings.

In addition to Downing and redshirt sophomore Kelsey Jernigan, WKU also brought in two freshman pitchers in Bryce Holmgren and Cassidy Blackford.

“We have five kids on staff that all provide different looks, with Parker having the most experience by far – another lefty that right now is working into that No. 1 role,” Tudor said. “But I think we’ll have a little bit different look. We won’t just put all the load on one pitcher. I think all five ladies can do a good job for us in the circle.”

Kramer was the most high-profile loss from last year, but the Lady Tops also said goodbye to much of the rest of their production as well.

Senior shortstop Brooke Holloway is the team’s returning leader in runs scored (22), hits (35) and home runs (7).

The only other senior on the team is Jatavia Wright, a former track athlete who will be a speedy utility player in her first season playing softball, so leadership will also have to come from younger players.

“We all enjoy it,” Holloway said. “We get along as a team. Being the leaders, I think it’s fun.”

Downing hit .409 for the Lady Tops last season as a key bat down the stretch, although she also has the potential to pitch.

Sophomore outfielder Carleigh Chaumont returns after tallying 29 hits and 17 RBIs in her first college season.

Tudor said with 12 underclassmen and many vacant positions, her starting lineup will be shaped by how players handle game experience.

“I think it’s still up in the air,” she said. “With the youngness, seeing how they’ll mature in games is definitely something I’ll be looking at. … I think whoever wins a spot will keep the spot as long as they continue to produce.”

One thing the Lady Tops are looking forward to is getting to play at the WKU Softball Complex.

WKU played just 11 of 50 games at home in 2015. Nearly 20 home games were affected by winter weather, rain or other circumstances.

The program hosts two tournaments this season, beginning its home slate Feb. 19 in the Holiday Inn Hilltopper Classic.

The Lady Tops begin Conference USA action March 11 in a series at Louisiana Tech.

WKU was projected to finish eighth in the league this year, while Florida Atlantic was picked to win it.

Tudor said the top five teams in the preseason poll returned their pitcher from last year, but she noted that you need look no further than last year’s Lady Tops to discover surprises are possible.

“I think the league is very strong in pitching,” she said. “But there’s all facets to the game that have to come through – not just pitching. We were picked fifth last year, and we didn’t lose a conference series. I think being underrated, being the underdog is a role that I value as a coach, but my expectations are always to win every game that we play.”

— Follow Assistant Sports Editor Zach Greenwell on Twitter at twitter.com/zach_greenwell or visit bgdailynews.com.