By Shelley Ebbrecht
“Consistency is key” will be the mantra of the Sarcoxie Lady Bears on the softball field this spring. With experience from seven returning starters, the Lady Bears will look a lot like last year’s squad—only better.
“We should be a solid ball club and have more maturity that hopefully makes us more consistent,” said coach Dale Rice. “It should be another fun season.”
Rice returns for his 10th year at the helm of the Lady Bears after leading last year’s team to a 17-6-1 finish. They advanced to the second round of the district tournament before ending their season with a 5-2 loss to Purdy.
Sophomore catcher Jacey Lee led Sarcoxie with a .457 batting average with 30 RBIs on 38 hits and a .522 OBP. She was named second team all-conference along with fellow sophomores Peyton Kisling and Bailey Walters.
Kisling, the team’s third basemen, had 24 RBIs and two homeruns while also going 8-1-1 in the circle in her freshman campaign. Walters, shortstop, hit .350 and led the Bears with 16 stolen bases.
Alyssa Rice earned first team all-conference with the team’s second-highest batting average (.447) and 34 hits, three home runs and 21 RBIs. She had the highest OBP with .553 and .724 slugging percentage. Rice will be splitting time between third base and the pitching circle, where she went 9-5 last season.
Senior outfielder Halle Zamora hit .444 with 36 hits and 23 RBIs. She had 10 stolen bases and got on base over half the time with a .505 OBP.
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“We have many of the key positions returning and should be able to turn the knowledge and experience into a more consistent team,” said coach Dale Rice. “We have two quality pitchers and a team that should be able to score runs. Another year of maturity and physical strength should help improve our defense.”
Sarcoxie graduated four-year starting second basemen Fiona Kauffman and Octavia Starr, a centerfielder with great range.
Junior Jordan Chairez will take over as anchor for Starr after hitting .317 and knocking in 14 RBIs last season. She was named honorable mention all-conference.
To fill in the remainder of the field, Rice said the team has three freshmen and two sophomores coming in that are untested but athletic.
In the offseason, the team has worked on improving off-the-field skills as well as fundamentals.
“We’ve worked on the mental approach to the game and being able to turn that into consistent, quality play,” Rice said. “My expectations for the team are to have fun playing quality softball and watching this bunch of girls mature in the game.”
The Lady Bears will return to the field in the team’s season opener on the road at Golden City on March 17 before the team hosts their own Sarcoxie Tournament beginning March 20.
