By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
By the time Danielle Cutbirth’s playing days at Crane are through, she may be remembered on the softball field in the same light former Lady Pirates Lexie Vaught and Emma Lander are remembered on the hardwood.
That’s the kind of start to her Crane career Cutbirth enjoyed two years ago.
Cutbirth gave a great glimpse of her abilities as a freshman when she posted a .635 batting average and received All-SWCL First-Team and All-State honors.
The junior shortstop will look to pick up this season where she left off, as Crane chases the SWCL championship and post-season glory.
“Cutbirth is a phenomenal player,” Lady Pirates coach Mike Morelock said. “She is one of the best players I’ve ever seen at the high school level. Her numbers as a freshman were unbelievable. She led our team in every single offensive category. What I’m looking for from her this season is for her to work into a leadership role. We had plenty of leaders two years ago when Cutbirth was a freshman. We have three seniors we can lean on. But I’m also looking for Danielle to take that extra step as a leader. She can make everyone around her better. We’re hoping with her high energy the other girls will feed off of that.”
Cutbirth’s power stroke as a freshman produced four home runs, with two of those being inside-the-park roundtrippers. Morelock doesn’t want her to feel pressure to supply home runs, but thinks she will beat her home run total from two years ago.
“We certainly hope so,” Morelock said. “She is bigger and stronger. But we teach them to hit line drives or hit it hard on the ground. If you’re trying to hit a home run, you’re probably not going to hit one.”
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Aubrey Chisam will be in her first go-around as Crane’s No. 1 pitcher. She was due to inherit that role from former Lady Pirates stalwart Olivia Edwards last year, before COVID-19 wiped out the spring sports season.
Chisam was Crane’s jayvee pitcher her freshman year.
“She is definitely going to be our go-to pitcher,” Morelock said. “It would have been nice for her to get innings as a sophomore. It’s going to be a different learning curve for her at the varsity level. Aubrey can handle it. She is very consistent. She plays a lot of travel ball and her father (assistant coach Curtis Chisam) works with her. She’s a competitor.”
Morelock hopes he finds another pitcher with potential. He’ll have all of his players try their hand at pitching.
“They all know from day one that we will pull them aside and everybody will take their turn pitching,” he said. “You can’t put all your eggs in one basket, especially when we play three games in one day at a tournament.”
Likewise, Morelock values having more than one capable catcher. He likes what he has behind the plate in Gracie Brawley and Lauren Akin.
“Lauren’s sister, Erin, was a phenomenal catcher who played for Crane four years ago and their father (Dan Akin) has been an assistant at Crane for eight years, so catching is in the family and Lauren likes doing it,” Morelock said. “Lauren has got a fiery attitude and lots of experience. Gracie caught about half of our games two years ago. We like to rotate our catchers as much as we can because we ask a lot from them. It’s nice sometimes to give them a night off.”
Both Akin and Brawley were All-SWCL Second-Team selections as freshmen two years ago, when Akin was an infielder and Brawley an outfielder.
Morelock hopes Emery Ellingsworth is an emerging star.
“Emery is a staple at first base for us,” Morelock said. “She’s a phenomenal athlete. I look for her to come into her own hitting the ball. She did a great job as a freshman developing as a hitter late in the year.”
Crane’s senior trio includes outfielders Sidnie Blevins and Chesney Essary and third baseman Celsie Killman.
Morelock is anxious to see if freshmen sisters Shay and Addison Blair can add balance to the Lady Pirates’ lineup.
“They have done a good job in our off-season workouts,” Morelock said. “They are competitive and athletic girls who I think can step in and contribute.”
Morelock, in his fourth year at Crane, said the Lady Pirates will have to rely on their defense more than in recent seasons.
“Our pitching will have to use our defense,” he said. “That’s going to be different than it has been at Crane in the past. (Edwards) was lights out and dominant. Now, we will have to use our defense more and score more runs.”
Morelock suspects Purdy, Crane and Sparta will be the SWCL’s leaders in what he thinks will be an exciting conference season.
“I think the SWCL will be more competitive than it has been,” Morelock said. “(Defending champion) Purdy is unbelievable every single year. They’re always going to be there. Sparta is going to make a splash with a really good pitcher. And, you can’t sleep on the other schools in the conference.”
