Last season, the Wright City softball team averaged 6.2 runs per game. After losing half its lineup to graduation, that number may be hard to reach, but that doesn’t mean the Wildcats aren’t aiming high in 2026; they'll have to adjust their approach.
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Last season, the Wright City softball team averaged 6.2 runs per game.
After losing half its lineup to graduation, that number may be hard to reach, but that doesn’t mean the Wildcats aren’t aiming high in 2026; they'll have to adjust their approach.
Junior infielder/pitcher Lorelai Kellner said the team will approach the season with constant forward motion to reach its full potential.
“I think that learning from our mistakes and getting better every day will be important,” Kellner said. “Having a good mindset is very important and being defensively strong will also be very important for us.”
Kellner (.407 average, two home runs, 20 RBI last season), senior pitcher/outfielder Ava Swaringen (.410, 27 RBI) and sophomore catcher Harper Martin (.447, 29 RBI) each return to help lead the team’s offense.
Not only were Kellner and Swaringen successful at the plate, but they also found success in the circle as the team’s top two pitchers.
Kellner (4-8 record, 4.04 earned run average in 71.0 innings) and Swaringen (8-8, 4.62 ERA in 92 and 1/3 innings) should work together to shoulder the pitching load once again.
Venerable Wright City Coach Fred Ross likes what he has in the team’s nucleus.
“We’ve got a good core to come back,” Ross said. “Both my pitchers return. We’ve got a solid catcher behind the plate. We had a new girl transfer in, so she’s solid in the outfield. We have a solid group to build around.”
The new transfer is senior outfielder Anna Klekamp, who comes in from Montgomery County to help the Wildcats.
Kellner said she’s already excited just by what she’s seen in the team dynamic.
“I think this group of girls is the closest it’s ever been since I’ve been here,” Kellner said. “We’re already working on team bonding and that will only help us a lot.”
As the team builds on its early-season work, Swaringen said she feels a strong defense behind whoever is in the circle will play an integral role in the team's success this fall.
“If we work on our defense early, it will just keep getting better,” Swaringen said. “That’s how we can add to our wins.”
Ross echoed both players’ thoughts that defense will be a key to the team’s success, beginning at the Lady Pirate Lead-off Classic on August 29.
“We’re going to have to play pretty good defense,” Ross said. “I don’t know if we’re going to score a lot of runs from what I’ve seen. It is still early in the season, and I’ve got girls that have played good competitive club ball. We’ll have to play good defense, take good at-bats and throw strikes.”
The coach said that he never really gets hung up on numbers.
He’s not worried about just how many wins a team has in a given season. The coach wants his team to focus on the process and the results will speak for themselves.
“A season isn’t defined by wins and losses; we want to improve,” Ross said. “I take some video early in the season and then take it at the end of the season to see the difference in how the girls are playing.”
