By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
Carl Junction reached 10 wins last year for the first time since 2015. This season, with the great majority of their players back from 2022, the Lady Bulldogs have their sights set on a winning season
“That’s our goal,” coach Zach Petty said. “It’s been a bit of a struggle for a few years, however last season we showed some promise and improvement. I really think this team has a chance to improve on (last year’s) win total.
“It’s always cliché to say that we have a young group,” he added. “However we don’t use that as an excuse, the opposite actually. While we may be young, we have a lot of softball experience. In my eight years as head coach, this team has more girls play softball outside of the high school season than I have ever had before. They love softball, and I think it will translate into a lot of success.”
Carl Junction has experienced pitchers in Hannah Cole and Kiley Spencer.
“Hannah will be going into her junior year and she has gained a tremendous amount of experience,” Petty said. “She pitched us to some really big wins last season and has gained more and more confidence each time that she heads out there. She will see some time at other spots as well this season when not pitching.
“Kiley pitched the majority of our innings last year before having to be shut down due to an injury toward the end of the season,” he added. “She’s built up a lot of strength and endurance over the summer.”
Petty plans to utilize both in the center circle again.
“We will count on both of these girls to pitch in some big spots,” he said. “I do see us using (them) pretty evenly throughout the season.”
Carl Junction’s offense last season was led by second baseman Hannah Cantrell and catcher Madi Olds and they’re back this season.
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Cantrell batted .449 and stole 29 bases last season.
“She was a huge part of our success,” Petty said. “She’s a monster on the bases, so the biggest thing that we need from her this year is to find ways on.”
Olds batted .397 a year ago and proved herself at catcher.
“Last year, she was stellar behind the plate,” Petty said. “Madi pushes herself to be better every day, and I fully expect her to have a great season.”
Ryleigh Palmer lived up to the hype surrounding her freshman season by batting .346 and playing a strong center field.
“Ryleigh is a tremendous center fielder,” Petty said. “She kept us in many games last year purely because of her defensive ability in the outfield. Ryleigh has also continued to improve offensively.”
Carl Junction started another freshman, Georgia Arnold, at third base last season. She will be a utility type this season.
Senior first baseman Izzie Southern will start for a fourth season.
“Izzie has shown a lot of power this summer,” Petty said. “(I’m) looking forward to seeing that translate into her at-bats in games this season.”
Others who could see playing time are outfielder Kasen Robertson, infielder/pitcher Grace Kirk, outfielder Elsa Dogotch and infielder Taylor Sassin.
Petty felt the Lady Bulldogs handled themselves well defensively last season. But he sees room for improvement.
“Our defense did a great job last year, especially with the amount of inexperience we had,” Petty said. “However, my expectation is always high with our defense. I can think of three or four games where we could have won if not for some untimely errors.”
Petty thinks the Lady Bulldogs’ defense can improve, as he adds freshmen Kady Hunt and Kinley Spindler into the mix. Hunt is a shortstop and catcher and Spindler an outfielder.
“Those two have shown tremendous upside throughout their junior high careers,” Petty said. “We are fully comfortable with putting them out there. Kady has a great glove and is a really solid hitter. She’s got a great love for the game and I’m excited to see her compete at the varsity level. (Spindler) is an above average defensive outfielder. She’s got great speed on the bases as well.”
Carl Junction will take part in a jamboree at Carthage on Aug. 22 with Carthage, Joplin and Nevada.
