By Pat Dailey (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Branson coach Josh McKee’s pre-season plan a year ago to go with as many as three pitchers on a consistent basis never took off, as senior Cat Ford ended up throwing 115 of a possible 156 innings. But he feels it’s highly likely the Lady Pirates will feature different faces in the center circle this year.
With junior Peyton Bonsey and sophomore Sierra Dailey not seasoned throwers at the varsity level, McKee expects to pitch both. Bonsey threw 37.1 innings last year and Dailey 2.2.
“Our biggest question is going to be pitching,” McKee said. “Which one of them can throw strikes and get movement on the ball is going to give us the best opportunity to win. It all comes down to pitching pretty much.
“They’re going to have a short leash,” he added. “If they get in trouble, we’ve got to find something else before things spin out of control. Giving hitters a different look, too, is good, anyway.”
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McKee saw Dailey pitch Branson’s junior high team to a 10-0 start her eighth-grade year that included notable wins over Willard, Rogersville, Bolivar and Strafford and a co-championship at the Branson Tournament.
“Hopefully, she comes on in the circle to give us a chance to win,” McKee said.
Branson’s infield returns intact, with junior Langley Miller at second, Dailey at shortstop when she’s not pitching, junior Leanne Rhoads at third and senior Bella Gavin at first. Miller doesn’t figure to be at second again. She will split time between shortstop, third base and center field, depending on who is pitching.
“I feel like when Peyton is pitching, we have our best defense,” McKee said. “We can put girls at their natural position and where we’re pretty strong. When Sierra is pitching, we have to move pieces around.”
Branson features enough first basemen to fill an infield. Gavin, Bonsey, senior Molly Smith and juniors Maddie Good and Kalli Sapp all could see time at first. Gavin developed into a pleasant surprise last year by hitting .283 with a home run and 12 RBIs. She could go to the outfield. Good is primarily a catcher and Bonsey a pitcher. Smith ranks as the strongest female athlete at Branson in the weight room and has pop in her swing.
“We have about five or six girls whose spot is first base,” McKee said. “It’s kind of hard to distinguish who is going to play there. Bella might split time in the outfield and infield, depending on how pieces fall into place.”
Good could burst upon the scene in a big way. A travel-ball player for an 18U Team Kansas outfit, she is a power threat. McKee hopes to pencil her in as his clean-up hitter.
“I expect Maddie to have a breakout year offensively,” McKee said. “It wouldn’t be absurd to think she might hit eight or 10 home runs. If she could do that, it would help us tremendously.”
Freshman third baseman Tatum Worth is an intriguing addition with raw talent. A highly-decorated goalie already in soccer, she’s shown she can make an impact on the ball diamond. Worth joined an exclusive list at Branson by homering in junior high as a seventh-grader.
“Tatum has a possibility to start somewhere,” McKee said. “She can hit the ball well and if you can hit, you can play somewhere. She missed out on her eighth-grade season (due to the COVID-19 outbreak), but in seventh grade she had a good year. At our team camp this summer, she didn’t look out of place at all.”
The outfield figures to be shuffled around. Miller will be in center at times, sophomore Aly Dicken in left or center and Gavin, Worth, Bonsey and sophomores Anika Arjes and Leanne Glenn in left or right. Glenn suffered a broken arm this summer.
Outfielder Chloe Grimm, who hit .263 last year, is out with an ACL tear.
Miller and Dailey are Branson’s top proven hitters. Miller hit .338 last year and led Branson with 16 runs scored, while Dailey hit .305 with 15 runs scored. They will bat either 1-2 or 2-3 in the Lady Pirates’ lineup.
McKee has mentioned Dicken, who hit .229 with 11 runs scored last year, as a leadoff candidate.
“Aly puts the bat on the ball. I could see her leading off,” he said. “She doesn’t have a whole lot of speed. But she makes good contact. If she can get on, Langley and Sierra can move her around.”
The Lady Pirates gained momentum over the summer, as many of their players were on travel ball teams that enjoyed success. Dailey played for the Midwest Batbusters out of Nixa that won the 16U championship at the Fastpitch America Softball Association (FASA) World Series, while Miller, Dicken, Bonsey, Arjes, Sapp, Rhoads and Abby Ashbaugh played for the Branson HotShotz that were runners-up in the 18U class at the FASA World Series.
“The sophomore and junior classes have played a lot of softball,” McKee said. “I think it’s going to pay dividends. We have a bunch of people who could have breakout years.”
With just one senior likely to start, McKee wants the Lady Pirates to trust the process, as they face some COC teams with more experience.
“If the girls treat this season the right way, it could pay off in the future when these juniors are seniors,” he said. “We don’t want to worry about the outcome always. We’re trying to move forward to climb up the hill. We might get knocked back down a little bit. But we have to keep on trucking and try to get up the hill. We might not reach our goals this year, but we’ll be working toward winning a District and being at the top of the conference.”
