By Kary Booher (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
In eight short years, the Liberal High School softball team has surged from nowhere to last year reaching a state sectional and finishing with a 20-4-1 record.
Now comes the hard part. The Bulldogs are no longer a novelty to southwest Missouri, with the word out about their Final Four aspirations.
“There’s a lot of pressure that goes with it,” Liberal coach B.J. Goodell said. “And it’s a tough road to get there. That’s what I told the kids. The bar is pretty dang high.”
Fortunately for Liberal, almost all of last year’s players are returning, giving the Bulldogs the required muscle to compete in the postseason.
Start with Delanie Freeze. A senior now, she’s the Bulldogs’ top pitcher and one of its most feared bats. A year ago, she was 19-4, striking out 252 and walking 52 in 130 innings, earning Second Team All-State in Class 2 along with First Team All-District and All-Spring River Valley Conference. She also led the team with 31 RBI and cracked eight home runs.
Freeze has committed to Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College.
“She throws hard and moves the ball around,” Goodell said. “She’s very dominating.”
With her on the roster, Liberal has the muscle to go beyond last year’s results. The Bulldogs lost to Pierce City in the conference tournament championship and then lost to Pierce City again in the sectional.
To get there, Goodell has lined up a challenging early season schedule that includes a successful Galena, Kan., team as well as the Sarcoxie Tournament followed by games against Purdy, Archie and Pierce City. Purdy was the Class 1 state runner-up to Strafford last year while Pierce City reached the state quarterfinals before falling to Purdy.
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“In the first 10 days of the season,” Goodell said, “we’re going to see what we’re made of.”
It was just eight years ago when Liberal was playing a non-championship schedule, but Goodell has created a solid program that is more than just Freeze.
Brooke Bearden (Second Team All-SRVC, First Team All-District) is a quality catcher, while the infield features Sydnee Hood at first base, sophomore Taylor Ray at second, senior Kaylee Daniels at shortstop and Mallory Gazaway at third base.
Gazaway had team-bests in hits (37) and runs scored (38) last year, including 16 doubles, with 28 RBI. She was First Team All-SRVC, All-District and All-Region selection last year.
“She hit in the three-hole last year and is a big bat for us,” Goodell said. “As a freshman, she hit three home runs in the first two district games. We can play her anywhere, but we moved her to third base because she’s fearless.”
Daniels finished last year with 26 hits, 19 RBI and 34 runs scored. Hood had 20 hits and 16 runs scored. Ray had 20 RBI and 22 runs scored. Daniels was Second Team All-SRVC, First Team All-District and Second Team All-Region. Ray was Second Team All-SRVC, First Team All-District and Second Team All-Region.
In the outfield, look for senior Jaci Coleman in center field and senior Callie Cornell in left field. Offensively, they combined for 45 hits, 27 RBI and 37 runs scored. Coleman was First Team All-SRVC, All-District and All-Region last year. Cornell was honorable mention All-SRVC and First Team All-District.
“(Coleman) hit a lot of line drives and plays center field real well,” Goodell said. “Callie used to play third, and last year I moved her to the outfield. She wasn’t too keen on the idea, but she made some great plays for us. And she was like, ‘I kind of like it out here.’”
Right field could be shared by junior Jessica Roby and freshman Gracie Bott, with freshman Macy Bean in the mix as a bench player.
“I think the hunger is there,” Goodell said. “They want to more than just be in the sectional game this year. So, as soon as basketball is over, the talk will be on.”
