The Wright City Lady Wildcat softball squad will have a new look this season, with three starters from last year’s team returning to the team this season.
The Wildcats finished last season 10-11. They graduated seven seniors from last year’s team, six of which were starters. Wright City will count on the three returning starters and three returning seniors to lead the Wildcats this season.
Sophomore Lydia Clubb is among the returning starters for Wright City. Clubb was Wright City’s best hitter last season. She finished the season with a .582 batting average and 1.442 OPS. She led the Lady Wildcats with seven doubles and 28 RBIs. She also scored 25 runs.
Abby Vossen returns as a senior leader for Wright City. She finished last season with a .302 batting average. She led the Lady Wildcats with four triples.
Sophomore Paige Rees is back after starting for the Lady Wildcats as a freshman. She hit .292 last season with a .796 OPS. She had 15 RBIs and 13 runs scored.
Emma Thomas also returns to the team after finishing second among all Wright City pitchers last season with 47 2/3 innings pitched.
With the lack of certainty returning for Wright City this season, coach Fred Ross is looking for other players to step up and win position battles. The Wildcats do have the players to battle for the positions, Ross said. The position battles will be ongoing throughout the season.
“With the kids I have, we’re in a battle throughout the season,” Ross said. “Nothing’s guaranteed. It’s not going to be one game and done. But if something becomes a habit or becomes habitual, then we’re going to put someone else in there and see what they’re going to do.”
Ross stressed this evaluation occurs over multiple games and he will not make a lineup change because of an athlete’s performance in one game.
Ross’ goal is to have everything in place by the middle of the season. Once they get to midseason, the starting lineup generally stays the same unless a player goes into a slump.
“Usually by then, you know your team and have a feel of your team, players, what order they’re going to be in, what they’re going to try to succeed the best at. By midseason, everybody should be about the place where they need to go. Unless someone goes in a slump, that’s probably what it’ll stay until districts. Hopefully we’ll peak around that area,” Ross said.
With new starters at so many positions, Ross is counting on the returning seniors to help the inexperienced players adjust to varsity softball. He also believes he needs to see players in game situations to truly evaluate who is ready to contribute at the varsity level. He specifically needs to evaluate in-game baserunning and whether they can drive the ball the opposite way when that is what the situation dictates.
“You have to see what kind of mental ability they have,” Ross said. “Mental toughness is a big part of a lot of sports, especially softball.”
Although they face tough competition, the Lady Wildcats’ goal this year is to try to compete for a conference championship and notch a district win.
“The last five or six years, we’ve had a state placed team in our conference every year,” Ross said. “They shipped us to a pretty good district last year. So we’ll see what happens. You always want to compete for a conference and try and get some individual accolades and play well as a team.”
The Lady Wildcats will begin the season Saturday at Boonville.