By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
2021 proved to be a rebuilding year for Republic Softball.
The largely young, inexperienced Tigers finished with a 17-11 record, falling to Ozark on a 7th inning walk-off hit in the district semifinal.
Head coach Lee Dishman, entering his 10th season at the helm, expects the development and experience to pay dividends heading into the fall campaign.
“We played some young girls in some key spots and it took them sometime to get used to varsity softball,” Dishman said. “We were playing some of our best softball going into districts and I think it showed. I think this experience will help these girls be ready and hungry for this season.”
Republic loses a pair of talented graduates in pitcher Mara Lakey (set to play at Missouri State-West Plains) and center fielder Jaci West; however, the bulk of Dishman’s roster returns.
A lone senior returns to lead the Tigers in Emi Essary.
Essary, a first baseman/pitcher, hit .372 last season with 8 home runs and 37 runs batted in.
She is joined by junior shortstop Jenna Belcher (.357 avg., 4 home runs, 34 runs scored, 21 stolen bases), junior utility Gracie Woods (.200 avg., 16 runs scored), sophomore designated player/first baseman Annabelle Gerhardt-Hobbs (.382 avg., 16 runs batted in) and sophomore third baseman Addison Walker (.250 avg.).
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“This group of players brings the right attitude and mindset for our program,” Dishman said. “They have a great mix of speed and power in the lineup. We will lean heavily on this group to help the newcomers.”
With a host of young players eager to compete for playing time, Dishman believes his team will have plenty of depth as it enters the fall campaign.
“This group of young girls brings some quality talent to the program,” Dishman said. “Honestly I could list some more players on this list, because our younger group of players is going to be pushing for playing time. It will take them time to get used to the speed and grind of varsity softball, but I think they will work to make that adjustment period as short as possible.”
Those varsity newcomers include sophomore catcher Lilli Richerson, junior catcher/third baseman Alli Poulson, sophomore pitcher/outfielder Sammi Watson, sophomore pitcher Cass Ellison, freshman pitcher Piper Dishman, freshman outfielder Paige Elsenraat and freshman outfielder Addison Brown.
Republic’s young squad from last season will be much more experienced heading into the season; however, Dishman realizes it will still take some time for players to become comfortable with new roles against varsity competition.
“We will only have one senior on this year’s team so we will be really young,” Dishman said. “We could see as many as 5-6 sophomores/freshmen in the starting lineup. Our lineup will have a mix of speed and power throughout the order. It will definitely take time for these young girls to adjust to varsity play and we could take some lumps early on. We try our best to get them ready during the summer but you can’t totally prepare for the grind of the fall season.”
While the Tiger roster may be full of younger players, there is a host of available talent, and that talent is extremely versatile, according to Dishman.
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“Our strength going into the season will be our depth at many positions,” Dishman said. “We will have girls pushing each other for spots. If one girl is struggling with something, we will have some options for the lineup to keep firing. We also have girls that can play more than one position if we need to fill a spot due to injury or whatever.”
In the circle, Republic will again turn to its younger players. While Dishman doesn’t see a clear-cut ace at this point heading into the season, the team does have plenty of available options that will develop into roles early on.
“Pitching will be interesting for us this season and I don’t mean that in a bad way,” Dishman said. “We have five girls that could see varsity time in the circle. Our main pitching will come from our sophomore and freshman class. They are going to be young, but they have some talent. We will put them in pressure situations to try and prepare them for districts. We have never had this many options to use in the circle so it will be nice.”
At the plate, Republic will feature a solid mix of power and speed throughout its young lineup, which Dishman believes could quickly develop thanks to a challenging conference schedule.
“We will have our growing pains but we will battle with pitchers,” Dishman said. “Being in the COC, we see some of the best pitching in this area every night so they are going to have to understand struggles are going to happen but we can’t carry one at bat over to the next.”
In the field, Dishman expects Republic’s overall speed and quickness to be a big advantage with Belcher anchoring the squad from her shortstop position.
“Defensively we will be quick both on the infield and the outfield,” Dishman said. “Our outfielders will be able to go track some balls down in the gap.
“The infield will be anchored by Jenna Belcher, and she is going to have to be the leader that carries them. We will have to make the routine plays and keep ourselves in ball games. Once again the majority of them are young girls so we will have growing pains but we just need to minimize those.”
Following an Aug. 19 home jamboree with Nixa, Eldon and Hartville, Republic opens its season Aug. 26 in the Morrisville Tournament.
