By Kory CarpenterRecord Sports EditorIt was another year of improvement for the Wright City softball team.The Wildcats finished the year 14-11, and have improved upon their record every season since winning three games in 2012.With a steady group of veterans and help from underclassmen, the Wildcats bounced back from a pair of early season losses to win 14 of their final 23 games.“I had us winning two more games going into the season,” Head Coach Fred Ross said Tuesday. “We had some games we probably should have won, but those things just go through cycles. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how we did.”After a slow start, the Wildcats reeled off four wins in a row in mid-September to climb to 7-4 overall, and it was that winning streak that allowed the team to nearly meet its coach’s expectations.Freshman outfielder Remi Taylor forced her way onto the varsity roster and into the lineup with her bat, and she appears to be one of the building blocks for the program moving forward.“I had her playing a little bit of JV and she was hitting the ball down there,” Ross said. “So I moved her up and she continued to hit. She plays good defense in the outfield, too.”Taylor finished the season with a .403 batting average and 12 RBIs in 67 plate appearances.While on their way to winning more games since 2011, the Wildcats accomplished something they hadn’t done since 2007: They defeated Clopton and Silex in the same season.“We’ve steadily gone up,” Ross said. “But I lose three pretty seniors in Kayla Jefferson, Savannah (Bridges) and Brooke (Vossen). Brooke has been my leading hitter the last four years.”Kristen Reckamp and Janee Hill will also graduate, but Taylor and Macy Evans are expected to lead the Wildcats in 2016.Evans, a junior infielder and starting pitcher, led the team with 34 RBIs and will be the leading hitter expected to return after hitting .493 this season.On the mound, Evans will join Madeylyn Webb as the team looks to replace Vossen’s 55 innings this year.“Madelyn and Macy will split starts next year,” Ross said. “I won’t have a true No. 1, but we’ll have two good pitchers, which is good because we have a lot of back-to-back games between rainouts and tournaments.”With Evans, Webb and Taylor expected to return next season, the Wildcats appear to be in a position to continue their upward trend.“Our conference is generally a pretty tough conference for softball,” Ross said. “So we just want to compete in our conference and get some wins outside of the conference as well.”

Savannah Bridges was one of the top players for Wright City this season.       Bill Barrett photo.