Northeast Nodaway's girls are looking to climb from the cellar this year. Last year, they beat Worth County in their second game of the year, the second time since 2006. They were competitive in a lot of games and went the distance against Jefferson, but only won one more game. Now, they have turned to Danny Smith, who has coached them in summer ball, in hopes that he will be able to turn things around. He will be assisted by Joyce Stiens. Smith has coached them for several years, so the girls will know what he wants and won't have to climb a learning curve, which is always a concern when a team has had three coaches in the last three years. "They're doing a lot more than what I've asked them to," he said.
The Bluejays showed some promise in summer ball under Smith's guidance, beating Worth County three times and only dropping three games, while winning some cliffhangers. Smith hopes that will continue this fall; they will know right away how good they will be as their first game will be against North Harrison. The Bluejays have 12 players out this year, including Jill Spire, Dallis Coffelt, Emily Redden, Gerry Runde, Maggie Schmitz, Taylor Coffelt, Talina Nelson, Allie Runde, Kailie Colvin, Makayla Adwell, Alicia Smith, and Vanessa Riley.
The girls will know right away if their summer success will translate into fall success as they host North Harrison Friday August 21st at 5, followed by a road trip to Worth County on the 25th at 5. Smith said that Worth County and Jefferson would be teams to watch this year. "Dave's got a lot of players who play softball throughout the year, so they'll be much improved with Rikky Hunt back," he said. Northeast returns home on the 29th for their home softball tournament.
September will see the heart of their conference schedule, with a September 1st matchup at North Andrew, followed by a home matchup with Jefferson on September 8th. "It doesn't matter what the score is; we like playing these teams," said Smith of the matchup. "The girls know each other well, and they know exactly what they're going to do." Northeast then travels to North Nodaway on the 10th, which has brought David Carroll to coach them. Northeast then plays in the Stanberry Tournament on the 12th.
The Bluejays have a busy week on the 14th, starting with a road trip to Pattonsburg at 5, followed by a home matchup with DeKalb on the 15th at 4. The rest of the week will be taken up by the North Andrew Tournament from the 16th to 19th. Northeast returns home to host South Nodaway on the 21st at 5 before traveling to Stewartsville on the 24th to face the Cardinals at 4. The team concludes its regular season with a road trip to Winston October 1st at 5.
Northeast returns its battery of Dallis Coffelt and Jill Spire for their senior year. Smith has options; he can put Emily Redden or Maggie Schmitz on the mound and can put Makayla Adwell behind the plate as well. He said that freshmen Makayla Adwell, Gerry Runde, and Maggie Schmitz all impressed with their speed; Adwell can play nearly anywhere Smith needs her to be. Vanessa Riley, who is normally an outfielder, showed some promise at third. Taylor Coffelt nailed down the starting job at shortstop as a freshman last year and was stopping almost everything in sight at that position this fall in practice; she could go on to play collegiately after her playing days at Northeast are over, following Ashley Pride and Talina Cannon. Alicia Smith has nailed down the first base position and has one of the strongest bats on the team, hitting nearly everything up the middle. Talina Nelson has shown herself to be a steady hand at third. Newcomer Kailie Colvin moved in from St. Joseph and has shown herself to be a quick study even though she has never played softball before. "She could break into the lineup before the season is over," said Smith, who tried her at second. She showed a lot of range at the position in practice Wednesday.
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