By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
After winning a district championship in 2021, the College Heights softball team followed that up with a school record for wins last spring while winning back-to-back Ozark 7 championships.
The Cougars finished 19-5 and lost to Pierce City in the district but came away with seven players honored on the all-conference team, and head coach Mike Howard was named Ozark 7 coach of the year.
“Overall it was a successful year,” Howard said. “We didn’t finish the way we had hoped but that’s just going to give us more motivation to come out even stronger this year.”
The bulk of the team’s production returns this spring. The Cougars return Class 2 All-State catcher Jayli Johnson, now a senior, who was also first team all-region and first team all-conference. She was a .528 hitter with seven doubles, four triples and 20 RBI’s and led the Cougars with 30 stolen bases.
She’ll once again receive for junior Maddy Colin, a second team all-region and first team all-conference pitcher who tossed 131 innings with an ERA of 1.06. She went 17-5 with 254 strikeouts to just 18 walks.
“She was 10 years old when we first got a travel team together and I knew she was going to be something special back then,” Howard said of Colin. “She still plays travel ball in the offseason in some top-level tournaments and that really prepares her for the high school season. Once the season gets here she’s just in such command of her pitches. She’s hitting all parts of the strike zone and she’s got about five different pitches in her arsenal. She throws all of them consistently well.”
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Senior Aaliyah Perez returns as the starter at shortstop after earning second team Ozark 7 honors. She batted .288 with a triple, eight RBI’s and seven stolen bases.
Junior Kloee Williamson returns at second base after earning first team all-region and all-conference honors as an infielder. She could also split time in the outfield. Last year she was a .590 hitter with nine doubles, three triples, a home run, 28 RBI’s and 28 stolen bases. She was a first team all-state outfielder as a freshman.
First team all-conference senior Addison Lawrence was the starting center fielder last season and batted third in the lineup. She’s currently battling a knee injury and her status is uncertain going into the season. She was a .402 hitter with nine doubles, four triples, two homers and a school record of 47 RBI’s.
Lauren Ukena will likely start at third base but could play in the outfield as well. She had a double and five stolen bases last year but only played a dozen games due to injury.
Kallie Spencer played in 20 games and will be competing for an outfield spot this spring.
“We have several newcomers this year, too,” Howard said. “At College Heights, my assistant coach John Blankenship has done a really good job of recruiting girls to play or at least try softball out. We’ve got a lot of girls who are athletic but have never tried softball before. We’re going to do everything we can to get them to fall in love with the game and hopefully use their athleticism and build their softball knowledge fairly quickly.”
College Heights will play in a jamboree at Mt. Vernon on March 10 along with Marionville and Verona. The Cougars host Springfield Catholic March 21 to open the regular season.
“We have a talented senior group and hopefully we can put it all together and make a run at the state again,” Howard said. “Two years ago we won the district tournament and then we got defeated by Diamond in the quarterfinals. Last year we played Diamond and they beat us 6-3 in the regular season and they ended up winning the state title. If there’s one team we’re kind of aiming for it would be them and Mt. Vernon, which is also a really good team. We’re going to do our best to get back to the district title game.”
