By Brock Sisney (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Carthage softball head coach Stephanie Ray will have a veteran crew for her second season and the Lady Tigers are working hard toward living out the old motto that teams see improvement during a head coach’s second season.
“We are excited to have seven starters returning to a squad that won 19 games last year,” Ray said. “We are returning our entire infield, except for catcher, as well as our left fielder and center fielder. Of those seven starters, six are seniors. Leadership and experience will be key factors in the direction our program takes this year.
“Our team goals this year are to compete and finish within the top half of the COC and compete for the school’s first-ever district title at the end of the season. We are in a tough district after softball moved to five classes last year. My expectations are to have 20+ wins this season.”
As mentioned by their head coach, the Lady Tigers will be led by their especially strong senior class: starting infielders Natalie Rodriguez, Presley Probert, Jordyn Jones, and Kate Potter, starting outfielder Mary Grace Richmond, pitchers Jensyn Elder and Potter, utility Montana Fly, and outfielder Aspen Willis.
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“Our entire senior class has stepped up in leadership roles heading into this season,” Ray said. “As the season progressed last year, we got better every day. In order for us to be successful this year, we must do the same.”
Junior outfielder Landry Cochran rounds out the returning starters and junior outfielder and pitcher Ashlynn Jackson, sophomore catcher and infielder Alexis Smith, and sophomore Brooklynn Dolon-Main complete the 12 players with varsity experience from last season.
“Overall, I believe our pitching and defense will be our team’s strength this year,” Ray said. “We have seven of our nine starters returning from last year from a team who was pretty solid defensively. Our lineup should be solid this year as well. We return our leadoff batter in junior Landry Cochran. She does a great job setting the table for those in the middle, and is a tough out. We should have a decent mix of speed and power this year.”
Cochran earned first team all-conference for a sophomore season highlighted by a .451 batting average with 46 hits, 36 runs scored, 19 RBI, and 12 stolen bases.
Rodriguez’s bat provided the pop and produced a .402 average with 31 runs scored and 25 RBI. She earned all-COC second team honors.
Other players returning with double-digit RBI are Probert (19), Elder (16), and Richmond (11).
Elder joined Rodriguez on the second team all-COC and she put together 17 wins in the circle with a 2.40 ERA and 156 strikeouts.
Ray said that she expects junior outfielder and pitcher Ashlynn Jackson, sophomore catcher and infielder Alexis Smith, and sophomore Brooklynn Dolon-Main to emerge this season in the varsity contributor mix.
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The Lady Tigers officially open their season Aug. 27 with the Rockwood Summit tournament and their other regular season tournaments this season are the Joplin Paige Neal / Christina Freeman (Sept. 3-4), the Ozark Fall Festival (Sept. 10-11), and their own invitational tournament late in the regular season (Oct. 8-9).
Carthage steps outside the COC for individual games against Seneca (Aug. 31), McDonald County (Sept. 15), Camdenton (Sept. 25), Nevada (Sept. 27), and Monett (Oct. 4).
The Lady Tigers open conference play Sept. 7 against one of their big rivals, Carl Junction.
Last season, Carthage lost a 3-2 game to Kickapoo for the Class 5, District 6 title. Earlier on, Carthage lost 11-1 to the Lady Chiefs in their Ozark Fall Festival opener. Kickapoo reached the state semifinals.
On Aug. 24 this year, Carthage welcomes Carl Junction, Neosho, and Joplin to the Fair Acres Sports Complex for their annual jamboree.
