After seven years as head coach of the Warrenton softball team, Chad Berrey has made his mark on the program by reaching 100 wins after a 17-6 dominant victory over St. Charles on Sept. 17.

Berrey took over the program in 2018 and has helped coach the program to a district championship in 2021 and led the Warriors to the Class 4 final four in 2022, where they placed fourth in the state.

He has coached all-state pitchers, players that went on to go play Division 1 ball and more. But Adee Morgan and Kiera Daniel pointed out that what was more important, was instead his character.

“In the off-season, he talks to us all the time, he’s just caring for us,” Daniel said. “He deserves it. He’s the one coach that I think deserves it the most.”

Both Morgan and Daniel have been with Berrey for six years now, when he created a feeder team for the middle school, called the Blackhawks, to help generate more interest in the sport.

“Us winning this much and seeing him do it, it’s not even us growing in the game, but us growing as a family together,” Daniel said.

After the game, Berrey felt overwhelmed with all the love and appreciation from his players, the parents and his two assistant coaches, Matt Dodge and Katelyn Berrey, his wife.

Berrey credited the girls and his assistant coaches for helping him achieve 100 wins.

“The credit goes to all the girls because they are the ones out there competing and getting those W’s,” Berrey said. “I definitely can’t do it without my assistants. I know it’s a hundred wins for me, but that’s just a number for me. I’m one guy and without the other coaches, it would not be possible.”

He vividly remembers his first win as head coach back in 2018 when the Warriors played Waynesville in Sullivan for their first game of the season.
They ended up winning 13-2 and Kathryn McChristy pitched.

“I think we finished that season 9-18, one of the worst years in Warrenton softball history. After that, we had to make a lot of changes and in a couple years we found ourselves in the final four and district championship, so now we’re trying to compete again,” Berrey said.

Berrey also recalled not only one of his favorite wins, but one of the top five days in his life. It was 2021 and the team was playing Parkway North for the district championship game. McChristy was pitching and the game was pretty much back and forth.

Mackenzie Hurst hit her first two home runs in her high school career. Parkway North walked Hurst the next time she came up to bat, but McChristy was up next and the bases were loaded.

She hit a ball off the wall to win the game 6-4 in the bottom of the seventh,
which secured Berrey’s first district championship as coach.

Three years after the creation of the feeder team, eight out of nine girls from that middle school team then went onto play in the final four. Within the first two years of the feeder team, they had only won a total of
three games.

“It was neat seeing all the time and effort we put into those girls, it paid off in the end. Being a part of that and getting our banner on the gym is a great honor, especially because I graduated from Warrenton,” Berrey said.

As soon as the game ended, the team did not miss their chance to dump the water jug over Berrey’s head, of course with his baseball cap off. Makayla Witthaus had the honor of pouring the gatorade jug on Berrey’s head, while the team laughed and celebrated.

In addition to the gift of cold water, the team gave him a Louisville slugger bat with his name and 100 wins written at the base, a game ball with a cover and a photo book that features letters from all the players on the team.

“As coaches, we try to make the game and our program special for the girls,” Berrey said. “We try to instill gratitude, appreciation and celebration and when they do something like that, it overjoys you.”

Berrey was again overwhelmed with all the love he was shown after reaching this milestone and expressed thankfulness to the program, and past and present people that have been along with him on his journey.

“I’ve definitely been blessed with the greatest girls in the world for the past seven years. Great talent, great personalities, great character and I’m loving seeing what they’re going on and doing with their future,” Berrey said. “The longer I go in this sport, it’s more rewarding seeing them do things past Warrenton softball.”