About three weeks into the spring season, it’s time to gauge how the local softball and girls’ soccer scene is shaping up.
We’ll do a Top 8 for each sport, since not every school plays spring softball and I wanted to keep it equally represented with girls’ soccer.
APRIL 6 GIRLS SOCCER POWER RANKINGS
These rankings will (hopefully) be updated and released each week through the end of the regular season.
We won’t have to worry about the “dominance by Class” issue with softball since we only have one softball Class for the spring season.
Overall record and previous rankings are listed in parenthesis.
1. Purdy (10-0, N/R) – This was the easiest team to slot for softball. I emailed about a dozen or so coaches to help me with these rankings, and Purdy was mentioned most frequently as the top team. It’s easy to see why. Through two and a half weeks, Purdy is 10-0 overall and has won the Mt. Vernon and Pierce City Tournaments. With eight starters back, Purdy has a superb lineup that’s averaging nearly 13 runs per game. The Eagles are again solid defensively, after committing only 39 errors last season. In the circle, Purdy can throw either Breanna Keeler or Hallie Henderson, who both had sub-2.00 ERAs last season and combined for about 175 strikeouts. Purdy has upcoming league games against Wheaton (April 8), Verona (April 12) and a potential sectionals preview against Mt. Vernon (April 14). Speaking of the Mountaineers…
2. Mt. Vernon (10-2, N/R) – The Mountaineers have enjoyed the most success of any local team since the full-on switch to a spring championship season two years ago. They look poised to contend for 20+ wins again this year, with seven starters back in the fold. Mt. Vernon’s only losses thus far have come to Mountain Home (Ark.) – a 6A school – and Purdy. The Mountaineers have posted run-rule victories in five of their last six games. Mt. Vernon’s schedule gets a bit more challenging in the coming week, with games against Diamond (April 7), Miller (April 8), Fair Grove (April 11) and Sarcoxie (April 12).
3. Strafford (7-0, N/R) – If O-Zone had a girls’ team sports award for most successful school year, Strafford would be a heavy favorite to win it for 2015-16. Because after finishing runner-up in Class 2 state volleyball and winning a Class 3 state basketball championship, Strafford’s fielding a very good softball team this spring. The Indians, who finished a respectable 12-8-1 overall last year, return over half their starting lineup in addition to bringing in a solid freshmen class that could have 5-7 individuals making regular contributions. Strafford’s most important returnee is sophomore Zoey Mullings, who quieted a good Fair Grove lineup the other day. Mullings struck out 8 and gave up just three hits as Strafford won 4-1 to remain undefeated on the season. Mullings also rakes at the plate, hitting .455 to go with a team-high 10 RBIs and a .772 slugging percentage. Strafford visits Ash Grove on Thursday, hosts Skyline on April 12 then faces Mt. Vernon on April 13 in a makeup date for the Marionville Tournament championship.
4. Mtn. Grove (10-0, N/R) – The second of our defending district champions in the Top 5, Mtn. Grove won the Sparta Tournament last weekend, then registered victories over Conway and Hartville earlier this week. Centerfielder Colbee Anderson and shortstop Sammie Hutsell, both all-region selections last year, return for the Panthers in addition to junior and starting pitcher Laci Collins. Mtn. Grove will be a hard team to gauge all season for these rankings. The Panthers’ regular season schedule doesn’t include games against the likes of Purdy, Clever or Mt. Vernon, although Mtn. Grove may run up against those teams at the Mt. Vernon Tournament April 14-15. Mtn. Grove visits rival Cabool on Thursday, whom it beat 13-9 on March 29, then travels to Class 1 Fall power Dora on Monday. The Panthers have a district title rematch coming against Plato on April 12.
5. Liberal (5-1, N/R) – To the far edges of our coverage area we go. The Bulldogs, Pierce City and Sarcoxie lead a three-horse race for SRVC supremacy this spring. Liberal, which has faced three Kansas teams among its first six games, features a premier player in sophomore pitcher and 2015 All-SRVC first team selection Delanie Freeze. In Liberal’s 2-0 win over Pierce City on March 28, Freeze struck out 15 and allowed just four hits, while also adding three hits and an RBI at the plate. Liberal hosts Miller on April 6, visits College Heights Christian on April 7, then Greenfield on April 12.
6. Pierce City (6-2, N/R) – The Eagles’ two losses came by a total of six runs to teams (Purdy, Liberal) ranked above them on this list. Sophomore Ragan Blinzler fired a no-hitter in the team’s third game of the season, a 4-0 win at Ash Grove. Pierce City also has notable wins over Clever (11-1) and Sarcoxie (7-6). Pierce City’s in a tough District 10 group that includes Purdy, Sarcoxie, Southwest and Wheaton, all teams with winning records up to this point. Pierce City finishes up this week with home games against Miller (April 7) and Exeter (April 8), then starts next week with road games at College Heights Christian (April 11) and Jasper (April 12).
7. Clever (5-1, N/R) – The Blue Jays have seven starters back from last season’s district title-winning team, including all-state pitcher Emily Mendenhall. The junior averaged over a strikeout per inning in the circle, and slugged .936 with 3 homers at the plate. Clever’s strength of schedule thus far hasn’t been as good as other teams on this list, hence the No. 7 ranking. The Blue Jays beat Crane 9-1 on Monday and their only loss came 11-1 to Pierce City on March 21. Clever competes in the Forsyth Tournament this weekend.
8. Fair Grove (7-3-1, N/R) – Fair Grove’s undergoing some lineup shuffling due to injury, but the Eagles still had a respectable showing in a 4-1 loss to Strafford on Monday. Fair Grove’s also played the likes of Mt. Vernon and College Heights Christian to close losses. The Eagles’ best wins thus far have come against Diamond and Wheaton. Fair Grove has a three-game home stand ahead, facing Stockton (April 7), Skyline (April 8) and Mt. Vernon (April 11).
Knocking on the door (alphabetical order): College Heights Christian (7-3), Diamond (6-4), Sarcoxie (7-1-1), Southwest (7-2), Wheaton (9-6)
