Too Many Mistakes Lead to 5-inning Loss. Marquette 15, Webster 5

You cannot give any team 7 extra outs of chances to advance and expect a positive outcome. And that many freebies to a team from a program as strong as Marquette’s is especially problematical. Of the 15 runs scored by the Mustangs, 11 were unearned. While a misplay on their side also led to a run or two, the game cold have been much closer.

Defense is an ongoing area of emphasis, “taking care of the ball,” and using good judgment on when and where to throw. We saw some progress, not just today but since the beginning of the season, but to this point our defense is somewhat inconsistent. Our pitchers deserved better fates than they suffered today, and we will need more consistent performance if we hope to go on a roll before the end of the season.

We head south, way south, tomorrow, visiting Festus before a long (for us) weekend. The varsity is over in Liberty and Coaches Cerutti and Wylie are accompanying them, so JV Black will get a long weekend with Friday off. Thanks to Karen Smith for the pix, and, oh, by the way, Happy Birthday to Our Gal Friday.

Nicola Rikand quickly changed course and took the out at home in the second inning.

Marko gets the forecourt at home from Nic Rikand in the top of the second.

Morgan Lawrence went 3-for-3 and slides in here with a triple to drive in Bailey Allen for our first run. Morgan later scored on a long sacrifice fly by Emmy Gary.

Maddie Keefer catches another Mustang runner at the plate on a heads up throw from shortstop Taylor Smith.

Credit the Mustangs with the courage call and execute a 2-strike bunt; Morgan showed good judgement by eating the ball.

Happy birthday to an important leader, Taylor Graning (TG[IF]) -- aka Friday. The nickname traces its provenance back to her freshman year, when we had TK and TG -- and you can figure the rest out yourselves.

Statesmen Tame the Lions: WG 5, NWCH 2

We got the challenging game we expected (and hoped for) on our Jeffco trip to play the Lions of Northwest HS. It was a crisp game that an inexperienced observer might have confused with a varsity tilt. For sure the level of sportsmanship from both teams was worthy of accolades at any level. Not even sure TK worked up a sweat, needing only 57 pitches to record her 21 outs in the 5-2 win, tying Olivia Collins’s record for most wins in a season with 15 (of our total 16 against a single loss). The defense made the routine plays she generated behind her and in slightly over an hour we were talking, packing up, and heading back to our own ‘hood.

Today’s offense featured Lydia Beggs and Taylor Smith, each with 4 hits and 2 runs; Taylor had 2 doubles and a triple in her collection. We also saw fundamentally sound softball with 2 sacrifice bunts each from Sarah Sammon and Caitlyn Boyle (who added a great throw from RF to defuse a potential threat in the fifth inning when Lions tried to roar).

This was another team win, with contributions all over the field, at the plate, and in the dugout. Veteran leadership has done what I didn’t think was possible, creating the beautiful team-first attitude and chemistry that rivals what Coach Cerutti and I marveled at last year.

We are Road Warriors for the rest of the season, as tomorrow we send a hybrid team (in what is technically an Orange game) to Lutheran South (where Black will travel again on Monday – we can’t quite explain that either), with a roster complicated by band conflicts. And then Saturday will see us at the KAA for the annual Hancock Tournament, where we will be defending our fourth straight title. We finish at Kirkwood on Tuesday, looking for a season sweep of our rival.
Photos thanks to Karen Smith.

We were a little bit out in the country. Bug forecast proved correct.

You can try to bunt on us if you want, but we'll all be moving. Note LF Sarah Sammon on the move in the background.

Taylor Smith's 4 for 4 day included two doubles and a triple.

Emmy Gary and her magic bat drives in Taylor Smith with a big seventh inning insurance run.

Lydia Beggs also went four for four, scoring 2 runs and driving in another.

The injury to Alyssa Moran necessitated moving Nic Rikand to CF and Taylor Smith shifted over the left side at short.

2016 Season in Review

This one always takes me a while to write. That is in part because I need time to decompress after the season. It would seem I internalize a lot of stress. My post-season massage never got to my legs because the entire hour was spent getting the knots out of my back, neck and shoulders. But it’s time to move the page views from the Cor Jesu game to something new.

Anyway, had you told me we would finish the season 16-4 with another trophy to display at the banquet, my only disappointment would have been not with the four games in which we were defeated but in the four games we lost (to weather and other things beyond our control).

Put it on a loop, because I say it at the beginning and end of every season: "JV Softball is like a box of chocolates...."  Sorry, could not pass it up, but suffice to say I make no predictions.


We do, of course, set expectations for our program, but those expectations have nothing to do with wins, losses, or any other statistic. However, our goals are fairly consistent from year to year:

     1 -  There should be a noticeable improvement in each girl's individual skill level as we compare the first practice in August to the last game in October.

     2 -  There should be an obvious growth in team culture, and, although that may look different from year to year, a team bond and commitment to teammates must be part of that culture.

     3 -  Our JV Statesmen should maintain a high level of sportsmanship and competitiveness that reflects positively on the school and the district. We want to be a respected and sought after opponent.

     4 -  We should produce at least 5 varsity-ready players that Coach Gibson can think about as part of the mix for the next season.

     5 -  Every player should be able to look back on the season as a worthwhile and enjoyable investment of her time, and at least 80% (dead minimum) should be looking forward and committed to continuing in the program next season, including participating in the off-season activities and workouts.


I think I can safely speak for my invaluable assistant coaches, Chris Fechtel and Kate Wylie, when I declare this season a success. We are lucky to have such a large and talented coaching staff, from the contracted staff to the many volunteers. I respect and enjoy working with all of them.

Parental involvement and support is never something I take for granted, although it's been consistently outstanding every year. But I started my coaching career at Hancock High School. By the fourth game of a Statesman season, I have met and almost always seen at a game virtually every parent of every player. I can tell you that by the end of any four year stretch at Hancock, I hadn't met every parent with a senior in the program. The support and sportsmanship the parents modeled for their daughters is an integral part of our success. Thank you for that.

The girls just voted today on their award winners, and to tell you the truth, I didn't even look at the ballots, mostly because I don't care who won what. We carried 16 girls, perhaps a few too many, but we carried 16 winners, 16 fine young women who represented their school, their team, their families, but most importantly, themselves with class. What a pleasure to work with them and watch them grow as players and people.


Softball is a stats-driven game, and I, having been raised with a scorecard in my hand, baseball cards next to my bed, and Strato-Matic players hidden away for midnight (and later) games with my brother, am a self-confessed numbers nerd. I don't post statistics during the season for a variety of reasons. First, I don't want to get into discussions about whether something was or was not a hit or an error, either at bat or afield. Second, I don't want to have discussions about who is playing when or where based on stats that may not reflect performance and/or ability. Finally, those parents who really want to keep track can do their own math based on the box scores, and I tried to keep those accurate and up to date.


As has become a tradition, below are the season totals. For comparison purposes, I am also including the stats from the seven previous years. For a better view, you can open/double click each year separately. I do want to give a shout out to our pitching staff (who, incidentally gave their own shout out to our three catchers and their improvement over the course of season): 26 walks in 20 games, a 3:1 KO to BB ratio. Combine that with a fielding percentage of over .900, and you have an explanation for our success. In short, we played good softball. 


    Again, many thanks to all involved, coaches, parents, district administration, but especially the girls who never gave us less than their best, for a great season. Looking forward to another great year in 2017.