By Matt Turer — @MattTurer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Each week, OzarksSportsZone.com will release local softball power rankings brought to you by CoxHealth. Like our other power rankings, these rankings will be based on dominance by Class, not head-to-head.
Recent success and strength of schedule are also factored into the rankings. These rankings are through games played on Sept. 27.
Overall record and Class are listed in parenthesis.
1. Willow Springs (13-7, C2, LW: 1)
Three losses at the Kewpie Classic to 21-win Class 4 Troy Buchanan, 11-win Class 4 Rock Bridge and 14-win Class 3 Southern Boone shouldn’t bother anyone. (The Bears battled Southern Boone to a 2-1 loss.) Mixed in was a 14-0 tournament win over Class 2 St. Joseph’s Academy, plus good wins against solid area Class 2s Ava, 6-1, and Norwood, 12-2. The Bears will be the top seed in the C2D3 tournament in Doniphan, facing No. 4 Alton (4-13) next Thursday.
2. Webb City (22-5-1, C4, LW: 3)
Not only did the Cardinals play in a tournament over the weekend, but they did it without top-two run producers Addie Darby (40 RBI) and Mareika Turpen (39 RBI). Without them, Webb still grabbed wins over Kearney and Ft. Zumwalt West and tied (ugh) St. Joseph Central, 2-2. The two losses against Park Hill South, 12-6, and Blue Springs, 4-1, could’ve gone differently with a full lineup. These are good Class 4 teams and the Cardinals again proved they’re ready to compete with out-of-area schools. Webb also safely beat district rivals Neosho and McDonald County. Fun note: Darby’s seven RBIs in the Neosho win tied her (with 8 others) for eighth all-time in state history for a single game.
3. West Plains (21-4, C3, LW: 2)
While readers of these rankings know I don’t put a lot of stock in in-season tournaments, the Zizzers had a great Springfield tournament, beating four area Class 3 schools in Aurora, Hillcrest, Reeds Spring and Rogersville, with the last three being district rivals. West Plains beat Hillcrest again on Monday and then recorded a big win over Kickapoo, 6-4, on Wednesday. Abbey Gann didn’t pitch a full load with the packed tournament schedule, allowing Karsyn Smith to record a couple more wins. Smith (4-0, 2.73 ERA) has been a dependable No. 2. The only red flag for West Plains is a tournament-opening 8-2 loss to Helias Catholic, a team the Zizzers could see in the quarterfinals if they get there again.
4. Dixon (19-0, C2, LW: 5)
Maybe no one will beat the Bulldogs. Dixon continued to impress with five more wins last week, including beating a good Crocker team, 10-0, and a decent Class 3 team in Boonville, 3-2 in extras. Shutouts over Cuba and Pilot Grove and a 16-1 win over Belle means this team has still only allowed more than two runs in a game once this year and has now posted 10 shutouts. Dixon hosts Class 4 Camdenton this week which, while ultimately meaningless, will be interesting.
5. Monett (12-8, C3, LW: 4)
The Cubs dropped a pair of tournament games to Class 2 programs North Callaway and Palmyra by a combined 21-4. Not a great look, but it came in a tournament, so let’s move on. Monett did beat Class 4 Big 8 rival McDonald County 5-1 on Tuesday, securing at least a share of the conference title. Katie Kurima’s 19-game hitting streak came to an end in that win over the Mustangs. Her 17-game streak with at least one stolen base ended this week as well, but not before swiping five bags in a 14-2 win over Hallsville, tying her for eighth all-time in state history in a single game (with at least 10 other girls).
6. Weaubleau (17-4, C1, LW: 6)
It wasn’t the type of week we’re used to seeing from the Tigers, who dropped road games to Class 2 Sherwood, 6-1, and Class 1 Walnut Grove, 9-8. Weaubleau gets the benefit of the doubt heading into districts with a strong Class 1 resume that includes two wins over C2D4 district rival/defending district champion Hermitage. The Tigers easily beat Stover and Macks Creek this week.
7. Hermitage (15-4, C1, LW: 7)
The Hornets started the week with an odd 7-5 loss to Class 1 Leeton (7-9), but rebounded with an easy 15-0 win over Climax Springs and a good 7-0 win at Walnut Grove. Sheridan Corum looked good in Walnut Grove, scattering three hits over seven innings for her third shutout. This is a confident team heading into districts next week.
8. Kickapoo (18-8, C4, LW: 8)
Losses of 10-9 to Branson and 5-1 to Waynesville in the Springfield CrackerJack Shack Invitational are good barometers of how tough those games are to judge as the Chiefs beat those teams by a combined 22-3 in regular play earlier this season. However, it’s also proof that while the Chiefs have a lot of potential, they can still show their varsity inexperience at times. Kickapoo also dropped a big conference road game to West Plains on Wednesday, 6-4. Shoutout to Emily Admire for an impressive one-hit, 17-strikeout performance in a 6-0 shutout of Parkview.
9. Logan-Rogersville (16-9, C3, LW: 9)
The Wildcats went 3-2 at the Springfield tournament over the weekend and topped Marshfield, 10-7, in regular schedule play. The biggest takeaway from the past week is a 4-3 tournament loss to district rival West Plains. LogRog is 0-2 against the Zizzers this year but those losses are by a combined three runs. This is an experienced team that’s always had a shot at not only a district title this season, but a run beyond that.
10. Reeds Spring (15-5, C3, LW: 11)
The Springfield tournament made up the majority of the schedule last week for Reeds Spring. The Wolves went 2-3 at the tournament, beating Walnut Grove and Willard pretty easily and dropping games to Fatima, Camdenton and district rival West Plains. While it was a tournament game, it was good seeing the Wolves battle the Zizzers just ahead of districts. The Wolves beat Buffalo in regular play, 9-3.
11. Camdenton (18-8, C4, LW: 11)
Camdenton started the Springfield tournament by beating Walnut Grove and Reeds Spring by a combined 23-2. The Lakers ended up dropping all three Saturday games in losses to Lee’s Summit North, Nixa and Battle. Fact is, the Lakers performed when they were fresh, and that’s good to see. Camdenton went on to easily beat conference foes Parkview and Joplin by a combined 25-4 on Monday and Wednesday. Haile Farris tossed a 5-inning no-hitter against Joplin, striking out 13.
12. Ozark (15-9, C4, LW: 14)
A 3-0 week and four-game win streak looks pretty nice for Ozark. The Tigers skipped the tournament in Springfield and instead beat Nixa 12-0, Bolivar 5-2 and Hillcrest 2-1 in extras. The most promising thing for the Tigers is Brooke Pridgen has allowed just two earned runs over her past 27 innings, a stretch that’s resulted in a 4-0 record and four complete games (include going 8 full against Hillcrest). If she’s finding her groove, Ozark suddenly looks like the threat they were before hitting that rough patch two weeks ago.
13. Republic (16-8, C4, LW: 13)
The Tigers dropped a game at Carthage last Thursday, went 3-2 in the Springfield tournament and ended the week with a 9-8 win over Willard. I’m sure they’d have liked more separation against Willard, and while Carthage has been hot of late, that’s a game Republic should win. However, the Tigers were strong in tournament play. Their losses came against Battle, 7-3, and Fatima, 9-7. With 37 steals, freshman Kaitlin Ragsdale is now just nine away from the 10th-most in a single season in state history (46, held by two).
14. Walnut Grove (11-10, C1, LW: 15)
Walnut Grove might not even think they belong here, which is fine. Let’s start with what the Tigers did this week: beat Weaubleau, 9-8. That’s a statement win in Class 1 right now. The day before they dropped a 7-0 game to Hermitage that was closer than the final score. The Weaubleau win snapped a seven-game losing streak, but six of those losses came against Class 3 and 4 schools, including five in the Springfield tournament. If this young group can clean up its defense they can win another district title.
15. Halfway (16-5, C1, LW: NR)
Already with a 4-1 win over district rival Walnut Grove earlier this season, Halfway has now won 10 of its last 11 games and is riding a five-game win streak with three games to go before district play. The Cardinals strolled through last weekend’s Stoutland tournament with a 4-0 record, including a 1-0 championship win over the hosts. The 16 wins are the most for Halfway since 2014.
Keep An Eye On: Dora (14-8, C1), Crocker (14-5, C1), Ava (10-7, C2), Stoutland (16-6, C1), Bolivar (9-11, C3, LW: 10), Warsaw (15-4, C2), Pleasant Hope (10-8, C2), McDonald County (15-8, C4), Norwood (11-8, C1), Salem (12-6, C3)
