Last year, Northeast Nodaway’s softball team had a record setting season. Having won just one game in their previous two years of competition, they got a season defining 10-9 win over North Harrison in nine innings and propelled that into a 16 win season. They set the school record for wins with 16, they shared the conference title, and they beat Jefferson for the first time in 26 years. Their only disappointment was their 3-2 district loss to South Holt in the rain and the mud.
The Bluejays return all but one player from that season and add some pieces to the puzzle. Hadley DeFreece will return to the mound for the Bluejays, and Bailey Busby will be behind the plate. Jaden Atkins will return at first, Lauren McIntyre at second, Jill Boswell at shortstop, and Lindsey Jackson at first. Meredith Adwell will be in left field again, and Ruby Wilmes in center. All these are subject to change, since the Bluejays will have a new coach in Worth County grad Payton Adwell.
The one hole to fill for the Bluejays will be in right field, where they lose Kierstyn Morrow, who made plenty of clutch catches during last year’s run. There will be several players vying to replace her. Lily Burns has always been a reliable backup for the Bluejays. Mylee Wilmes, Ruby’s sister, showed some pop in her bat. The two most improved players on the squad are Makenzie Pride, who crushed everything she swung at Thursday, and Sasha Deardorff, who is one of the hardest workers on the squad and who always pushes herself; her work was finally starting to pay off Thursday. Gracie Kohlleppel, an incoming freshman, has a high sports IQ and has always done the little things on both the softball diamond and the basketball court. All of them will be hard to keep out of the lineup. The Bluejays finally have the luxury of numbers this year, with 15 out for softball this year.
The Bluejays have some capable backups if needed. Lindsey Jackson can also pitch and she sports a screwball, rare at this level, and a sneaky fastball which she can get past even some of the best hitters in the area for strikeouts. Lauren McIntyre can handle catching duties if needed; she is one of those players who can play wherever Coach Adwell needs her; she showed a lot of improvement on the mound this summer with a devastating drop ball. Both would be the starting pitcher on a lot of other squads.
Two big differences this year will be in the coaching and the level of competition. The new coach, Payton Adwell, is pushing the squad to do even better this year; the level of intensity at practices has gone up. Ever since Northeast’s victories over Platte Valley and East Buchanan, they have had the target on their backs, with even sub .500 teams giving them their best shot. They will not be able to sneak up on people like they could last year.
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