Typically, five straight losses wouldn’t be viewed in a positive light.
But for Wright City Softball Coach Fred Ross, he sees those defeats as preparation for more important matters. An …
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Typically, five straight losses wouldn’t be viewed in a positive light.
But for Wright City Softball Coach Fred Ross, he sees those defeats as preparation for more important matters. An intentional string of matchups against Class 5 opponents was strategically placed onto the Wildcats’ schedule leading up to districts to ensure readiness.
“We chose to face those bigger schools to get ready for the postseason,” said Ross. “We wanted to see some good pitching. Hopefully we’ll be ready and not see anything faster or with more movement than we saw in the last few games.”
Wright City’s latest competition included a trio of setbacks in the Rolla Tournament on Saturday. The Wildcats fell to Ozark, Owensville and Carthage, before dropping a home contest against Francis Howell on Monday afternoon to fall to 8-12 on the season.
“We’ve been hitting the ball and still making pretty good contact and swings against those larger opponents, so we’re looking forward to carrying that over into district play,” said Ross.
Wright City opens the Class 3 District 2 Tournament at Montgomery County as the second seed and will face Orchard Farm at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. It will be the Wildcats’ first meeting with the Eagles this season.
“I think we can compete with anybody in the district,” said Ross. “We’re got to work on cleaning up our defense to make sure nothing gets by us.”
Part of that effort is due to limited consistent presence on the mound this season, as the Wildcats have relied upon three different players for pitching and are averaging just two strikeouts per game. Madison Hamlett has made 11 starts, going 6-5 with a 4.80 ERA.
In terms of hitting, Wright City has gotten consistent contribution from Abby Raines, Tristen Head, Abby Vossen, and Hannah Kendall. Vossen leads the team in hitting percentage at .375, having recorded 24 hits and 15 RBI. Raines also has 24 hits, along with 16 RBI and a .369 average.
Additional competition in the district tournament includes top-seeded Bowling Green, Winfield and host Montgomery County. Wright City has defeated the two latter and lost to Bowling Green 8-6 during the regular season.
“We’ve had a lot of one or two run games, where we couldn’t quite get the win,” said Ross. “Records don’t always tell the story, so hopefully we can turn it on at the right time.”
