By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Last spring was a bounce back season for Sarcoxie softball, which more than doubled its win total from 2021 and finished with a 17-9 record.
The Bears found success by pairing freshman pitcher Kylee Walters with a veteran lineup of juniors and seniors.
“She added to the juniors and seniors I had playing behind her and it fit in real well,” head coach Dale Rice said. “She was the only freshman I had last year so the roster was full of seniors and juniors as well as a couple of sophomores.”
Sarcoxie returns five starters from that group and Walters, now a sophomore, is one of the most decorated returners. She picked up second team all-region and first-team Southwest Conference and all-district honors after batting .357 with nine home runs and pitching to an 8-2 record and a 2.9 ERA with 177 strikeouts.
“She threw all summer so hopefully she’ll hit the ground running and be very competitive again this year,” Rice said. “She’s composed, she’s a competitor. She’s got the demeanor you want for a pitcher and when she gets the ball she expects to win. That’s what you want a kid to walk in the circle with. She’s real close to being a power pitcher and she’s got some decent velocity but she’s spinning the ball well. She set a few records last year and had a couple games with 17 strikeouts.”
Senior Maci Garrison played third base and catcher last season and earned second-team all-region honors as well as being named to the all-conference and all-district first teams. She batted .465 with a home run and an on-base percentage of .505.
CLICK HERE TO FIND LINKS TO ALL OF OUR SPRING SPORTS PREVIEWS
Senior Kaydence Flynn returns as the team’s cleanup hitter and first baseman after hitting .325 with two homers and earning second team Southwest Conference and all-district honors.
Senior Emma Plybon returns to anchor the outfield in center. She was an All-Southwest Conference honoree and was named to the all-district second team after hitting .375 with a .451 OBP and .944 fielding percentage.
Junior Emma Parrigon is another returning outfielder and she earned honorable mention all-conference honors. She was a .345 hitter with an OBP of .479.
Freshman Lauren Brooks will look to take over catching duties and could split time there and at third with Garrison. Freshman Grace Clifford could play at first or in the outfield. Freshman Breann Shumake plays up the middle. Freshman Kayden Baker is a pitcher who also plays second. And freshman Phoebe Sitton plays in the outfield.
Junior Elizabeth Holly is another addition to the roster.
“I think my battery is going to be good,” Rice said. “Pitcher and catcher positions are going to be good. I’m going to be solid at third base. Plybon can come in and play middle infield for me if I need her to and she really anchors the outfield. We’ll be very competitive but how good is yet to be seen because it depends on how we gel and how we can get on the field and get the games in this year because we were fighting the weather a lot last year. Losing those five seniors, it’s probably going to take a little bit to see how everything shakes out but I think we’ll have a decent season.”
The Bears have had just one season under .500 since starting spring softball in 2015.
This spring they’ll open with a jamboree March 11 at the Joplin Athletic Complex with Liberal, Jasper and Diamond. Sarcoxie plays in the Joplin Area Tournament hosted by Purdy March 17-18 and opens its home schedule against Galena, Kansas on March 23.
A road game at Gravette, Arkansas has been added to the schedule for March 25.
“We’re in a tough conference and I’m sure we’ll be in a tough district again,” Rice said. “It seems like every year we send eight schools to the district tournament and four or five of them could win it. It should be another fun year. Hopefully we’ll be in the middle of it.”
