Worth County’s girls softball team is seeking to build on a 13-10 season last year, their first winning season since the 2019 season. They had quality wins over King City, Green City, NEN, and Mid-Buchanan. Brooklyn Richardson, who was one of two main pitchers used, returns this year and will be joined by Kristin Tracy, a freshman.
The Tigers will lose a lot of horses from last year. Gone are players like Ali Brown and Hailey Adwell. But they have some new freshmen like Tracy, Kambree Briner, Addison Gray, Keira Hardy, Sumer Riley, and Evalyn Gilland. They have 14 players out this year and six of them will be freshmen.
While they have six freshmen on the squad, they have been tested in previous years. All of them were mainstays on junior high coach Cody Green’s squads as he has built the junior high into a respectable program, with winning seasons the last few years. The challenge for Coach Tiffany Bliley will be to get the new freshmen to the next level.
Kynah Steele, Kristen Tracy, and Rylee Ruckman have already emerged as team leaders for this squad, all helping out the younger players. Steele returns to shortstop, where she has been a force with her bat and glove. Tracy has gone on a hitting tear at times during the summer.
The Tigers will be relying on a lot of speed on the basepaths this year. Brooklyn Richardson and Kynah Steele were both forces on the basepaths. Becca Smith will rejoin the squad after sitting out the entire year last year with a knee injury and has regained the kind of speed that she showed two years ago.
Returning as catcher will be Autumn Cousatte, who has returned from a knee injury in basketball. Rylee Ruckman and Keira Hardy can catch as well. Ruckman can play first as well. Kambree Briner played second Friday. Rylee Ridge played third Friday. Brylee Rush, Rayleigh Smith, Sumer Riley, and Evalyn Gilland will vie for slots in the outfield.
Addison Gray showed she was one of the most improved players from last year, when she played in junior high. She took turns Friday at first base, shortstop, and third. She can play wherever Coach Tiffany Bliley needs her, and she crushed a double off Richardson.
Fridays are usually fun days for the team, and without a full squad to scrimmage with, the coaches jumped in. Both coaches, Tiffany Bliley and Ashley (Dowis) Briner, showed that they still had it after all these years. Briner got a nice pop fly single, while Bliley was still aggressive on the basepaths, although she nearly got picked off by catcher Rylee Ruckman from second, scrambling back on a close play.
But the expectations were still there for the Tigers. Players who were caught looking Friday had to run afterwards. With Brooklyn Richardson, Kynah Steele, and Becca Smith able to wreak havoc on the basepaths, the goal will be to get them home, which means putting the ball in play. “If you make a mistake, don’t make excuses for it,” said Bliley after practice Friday. “Own it.”
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