Kellner makes high school debut

By Kelly Bowen, Staff Writer
Posted 9/12/24

With some nerves hours leading up to the game, Wright City freshman Lorelai Kellner made her high school softball debut with a big bang.

Kellner, who was out in the beginning of the season with …

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Kellner makes high school debut

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With some nerves hours leading up to the game, Wright City freshman Lorelai Kellner made her high school softball debut with a big bang.

Kellner, who was out in the beginning of the season with an injury, made her return in a 14-13 win over St. Charles on Sept. 9. Kellner came out huge for the Wildcats in the third inning after hitting a home run to put Wright City in the
lead 6-3.

As she was rounding the bases, she was overcome with emotion and shed a tear or two while her teammates met her at home plate to congratulate her.

“Lydia [Clubb] said something to me and it just went into my heart really deep and I just got emotional,” Kellner said. “We were talking about hitting before the beginning of the game and she just told me that she is really proud of me.”

Clubb, a senior, recently broke a bone in her wrist in the Wildcats’ third game of the season at Boonville.

Clubb was off to another great start of the season with four runs, five hits and four RBIs.

With her nerves subsided, Kellner is now feeling “better than ever,” especially after a big win for Wright City.

“It’s nice to see her back tonight. It definitely helps and helps make our lineup a little deeper,” Head Coach Fred Ross said.

In the bottom of the seventh, Kellner also recorded a hit that allowed Sophia Wegrzyn to run home, resulting in a walk-off win for the Wildcats after being tied 13-13.

Ross noted that it wasn’t the prettiest win after the team gave up six runs in the sixth inning.

“We got some key things done and I thought we wanted the ball better tonight, we put the ball in play, had less strikeouts than we normally had in the last five games,” Ross said. “So that part, I’m pretty happy with.”

Ross said he wants the team to improve on adapting to the change of speed and making smart contact on the ball, rather than trying to play over the fence everytime.

The win comes at a good time after a hard 14-0 loss to Elsberry in their previous game on Sept. 5.

“We’ll try to get the momentum going and keep our momentum and play a little bit better defensively,” Ross said.

Wright City will play again at home Sept. 12 taking on Montgomery County at 4:30 p.m. 


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