By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
Responding to the graduation of pitchers Cayden VonSande and Anna Lucas, Camdenton’s Ellie Moore will be moving to the center circle this season.
Moore will be playing her third position in as many years. She was a right fielder two years ago and shortstop a year ago.
Moore will try to pick up where VonSande and Lucas left off. They held opponents to an average of just 2.5 runs a game last season, as the Lady Lakers went 18-12 while enjoying their third straight winning season.
“Ellie has been working this summer and we are going to lean pretty heavy on her,” coach Tyler Dinsdale said. “We will have some underclassmen options that will be able to help out, but we will be looking at Ellie to do a lot of pitching for us. We expect our staff to throw strikes. As our pitching goes, we will go because offensively and defensively I expect us to be really strong.”
Camdenton’s bats are led by Moore and Kodi Stidham. Last year, Stidham hit .417 with a pair of home runs and 26 RBI, while Moore batted .316 with 16 RBI. They were both named to the All-Central Missouri Activities Conference First Team.
“Kodi and Ellie will provide much needed middle-of-the-order power for our lineup,” Dinsdale said. “They have both had lots of success and have changed their plate approaches in order to get more quality at bats.
“Kodi will play a very pivotal role for us,” he added. “She will be playing shortstop and catching. She has been a three-year starter, so her experience will be very crucial for our success. She can play a lot of positions and might even pitch for us some this year if we need her.”
Camdenton’s returning starters also include Addi Baker, Ava Vogeler and Macee Blackburn.
“Addi will be leading the outfield again in center field and she brings a lot of leadership to the team,” Dinsdale said. “Ava played catcher, first base and third base (last year), but our goal for her this year is to provide her more time at third base, where she plays really well. She will also provide a power bat for our lineup from the left side. Macee also played multiple positions for us last year. She could see time at short, third and first this year.”
The Lady Lakers will be looking for Keznie Vavruska, Caitlyn Plumley, Kailyln Bailey, Madi Stone, Kaylee Patterson and Brooklynn Christensen to step up and complete their lineup.
“We are fortunate enough to have a lot of girls in our program that played roles on varsity last year that we are projecting to be starters this year,” Dinsdale said. “We have a lot of girls who did not receive constant starting time last year that will be getting it this year. Madi will look to get time in the outfield and at catcher. Kenzie and Caitlyn will be looked on to get playing time in the outfield and infield. Kailyn and Kaylee will get an extended look at positions in the infield and at catcher.”
Dinsdale feels good about Camdenton’s combination of speed and power offensively.
“We will lead off with speed and on-base percentage then go to consistent hitting and power,” he said. “We will have a lineup that will be strong and should score a lot of runs so we are excited about our lineup. Our offense will be the biggest strength this year. We have a lot of really good players that will be returning along with a lot of girls who received a lot of junior varsity and varsity experience last year. We should have a lot of speed and power. We will be putting the ball in play and should score a lot of runs.”
As for defense, Dinsdale is optimistic Camdenton’s infielders and outfielders will back up their pitcher.
“We have moved a lot of players around the last few years in order to get the best defense on the field and that will be our goal again this year,” he said. “We know that our pitchers will throw strikes, so we will put a solid defense behind them in order to make the plays. We will have a really good blend of upperclassmen and underclassmen playing crucial roles and we have prepared them this summer for those roles so we expect them to do very well.”
During Camdenton’s first go-around in the CMAC a year ago, Dinsdale gained plenty of respect for the league’s quality and depth.
“My first impression of the CMAC was that every team in that conference was solid from top to bottom,” he said. “We had two teams, Helias and Rock Bridge, that were in the Class 5 Final Four and Battle in Columbia beat Father Tolton, who were the state champions in Class 4, during the regular season. You do not get a day off in this conference. (Opponents) will bring their best competition against us every game.”
Camdenton will jamboree at Marshfield on Aug. 26, before the Lady Lakers debut at the Morrisville Tournament Aug. 29-30.
