Softball Eyes Bright Future After District Championship Loss

Lady Eagles softball ended their season with an 18-16 record, advancing one game farther than the previous year to the district championship.

Head coach Ashley Crump described their 7-0 semifinal victory against Ursuline as, “It was exciting for my upperclassmen who have had so much success here, but it’s also exciting for these freshmen and sophomores who had never had the experience before.”

The Lady Eagles hoped to overcome Borgia in the championship but fell short 0-2. “[Borgia] played a heck of a game and we couldn’t have asked more from our defense or from [pitcher] Ava Declue,” Crump said.

She noted that the defense had improved significantly since August and it showed against the Lady Knights. “Pitching, I think really came along for us. I think [Declue] did a fabulous job defensively. We had struggles all throughout the season, but I think it really got better,” she stated.

On the reason behind the loss, Crump explained that “we didn’t have that clutch hit that we needed and that was the difference in the game.”

Their offense struggled to be explosive against Borgia, which had been a recurring issue all season. “We just never really had those big numbers that we’re kind of used to,” Crump said.

For this season, leadoff batter Molly Lohden led the team with a .431 batting average, 34 runs and 116 plate appearances.

Dorie Richardson had a team-high of 28 RBIs, a .485 on-base percentage and a .575 slugging percentage.

In terms of fielding, Morgan Braun recorded the highest number of outs at 131 and putouts at 124.

Sullivan’s lineup of pitchers for this season included Declue, Evvie Blankenship, Lohden and rookies Rae Corwin and Mia Pridemore.

Crump was pleased with freshman pitcher Pridemore for stepping up to the mound against some tough competition, saying that “she threw against Francis Howell, the ranked team. She threw against Fatima, who was the Class 3 defending state champion and is going to be in the final four again this year.”

The coach was also impressed with the progression of sophomore catcher Carli McCreary who filled in forDorie Richardson. “I think she really stepped up and did a great job catching all of our pitchers. She’s such a strong kid and I’m really excited to see her grow between now and junior year,” Crump mentioned.

McCreary was also a force  at the plate, hitting 2 home runs, as did Richardson and Hayli Venable. Blankenship hit 1 over the fence.

The most memorable home run of the season came from Richardson’s walk-off victory over Rolla on Sep. 25.

In that game, Richardson utilized a technique taught by Crump about ‘staying neutral,’ which the coach introduced to her team for the first time this year. The coach described the technique as, “You can’t get too overly amped up about the end of the game. You can’t think about the last bat or an error you made because it’s over; you just have to bring yourself to neutral and play in the moment.”

Another lesson that Crump hopes the girls got out of this season is that “it doesn’t matter if you’re the number one seed or the number six seed. Whoever plays better that day will win.”

With the experiences and teachings gained from this season, Sullivan hopes to further their playoff run in the coming year.

They will also have four key players now in their final season: Lohden, Richardson, Blankenship and Declue who will be eager to get a district championshp before they leave.

With the seniors leaving in 2023, Venable and Braun are the last remaining players from the 2020 state championship team. They will be missed by the team, its fans, and the coaches.

“It’s always hard to just let seniors go when they come in as freshmen,” Crump said about Venable and Braun graduating. “It’s always difficult to let them go, but at the same time, it’s always exciting for the new ones to come in too.”

The Lady Eagles faced tough competition all season and finished at the district championship with a winning 18-16 record, driven by Crump’s message of being ‘neutral’ and focusing on the moment. With rising stars like McCreary and Pridemore showing their potential, the next season promises to be exciting, especially as it marks the final year for four key seniors.