MPGS softball holds their own in first season back after a long hiatus

[September 24, 2018] 

The 2018 Mount Pulaski Honeybears Junior High Softball Team experienced a great deal of success in their first school season in almost a decade.

Despite that many of the girls had not played softball since they were little and some had no experience at all, the team managed a very respectable 6-9 record this year.

Previously, the softball program at MPGS ended back in the Fall of 2009, after it was a part of the co-op with Elkhart Grade School. After EGS closed, the softball program resumed three more seasons at MPGS before being disbanded. With Mount Pulaski High School now fielding a softball team, it was evident the program needed to be implemented at the junior high level so as to feed into the high school program and be competitive in the area.

Travis Lingafelter, the head coach of the MPHS Lady Topper softball team, was hired to coach the junior high team this season and he saw many positives throughout the season.

For starters, the Honeybears won their season opener 13-12 in extra innings over Riverton. Eighth grader Jayda Allspach hit a hard ground ball to the shortstop in the eighth inning of that game and reached on an error. Allspach then stole second, went to third on an error by the right fielder and eventually scored the winning run on a steal of home. That first win of the season certainly gave Mount Pulaski the confidence they needed.

Mount Pulaski would go on to earn regular season wins over Illini Central, Hartsburg-Emden, Delavan and Tri-City.

In the first round of the regionals, Mount Pulaski scored a 19-9 win over Sangamon Valley to earn their sixth win overall on the season. This was a huge victory for the Honeybears as they were able to avenge a previous 13-9 regular season loss to Sangamon Valley.

Scout Tschantz and Mackenzi Chandler each had two hits and four RBIs to lead Mount Pulaski in that 19-9 regional win over Sangamon Valley. Tschantz had a three-run homer in the top of the second inning. Her line drive over the right field fence scored Kami Charron and Chloe Stone.

Chandler hit an inside the park home run on a fly ball to right field in the top of the third inning that scored Charron, Stone and Tschantz.

Chloe Stone, Hailee Daigh, Grace Davis, Jayda Allspach and Jena Rentmeister also recorded multiple hits for the Honeybears in that regional win. Makenna Wilham and Kami Charron also had base hits for Mount Pulaski. Offensively the Honeybears pounded out 17 hits in the game.

Tschantz was also the winning pitcher, working seven innings and striking out three batters.

Mount Pulaski would see their season end on an 11-1 regional loss to Springfield Calvary on September 10, 2018. Still a final record of 6 wins and 9 losses was very respectable for the return of the program.

Lingafelter summed the season up after that loss and he is already looking forward to years to come after seeing a great deal of improvement in the girls this season.

“The biggest hurdle we had was actual knowledge of the game,” began Lingafelter. “Athletic-wise and all the way up, sixth, seventh and eighth graders; they are definitely all athletic girls. That was a huge benefit in having that athleticism to where they were able to adjust as to how to play the game. Our biggest struggle was learning how the game is played. I think throughout the season, with not only being athletic, all the girls are very smart and able to pick up really quick especially with such a short season as the junior high season. They picked up on the knowledge of the game quickly and adjusted to the batting, especially with some of the pitching they saw, due to the Rec league that they had played as opposed to some of the travel ball others had played.”

“I think there is a lot of interest in softball and I hope the girls had a lot of fun,” continued Lingafelter. “I basically told them at the end of the last game, you’re gonna end the season on a loss or you’re gonna go all the way and never lose. This being the first year back, you can’t be disappointed. I told all the girls there is nobody that I don’t want to see come back next year in junior high. I’d especially love to see all the eighth graders come back out in high school and play. It’s only going to be a positive from here on out. The girls got the experience this year, and I think they got a taste of it. There are some good young girls, I know, that are playing some softball now that will come up and start filling the shoes of these eighth graders that we are going to be missing after this season.
"The returning seventh graders are going to be really sharp. I am looking for a lot more wins in the seasons to come. With a lot more experience, we will grow and hopefully the younger kids will come up and go through the program also.”

Front L – R:  Cecelia Davis, Sydney Lowe, and Abby Jones, Second Row L – R:  Kenzi Chandler, Ella Bobell, Kami Charron, Scout Tschantz, Grace Davis, and Chloe Stone  Third Row L – R: Makenna Wilham, Keyleigh Stewart, Makayla Harris, Jayda Alspach, Hailee Daigh, Je’na Rentmeister, and Josie Wakeman, Back Row:  Assistant coach Chris Caslin, Assistant coach Rex Tschantz and Head coach Travis Lingafelter  Not pictured:  Mikayla Arata

To put the success of the program into perspective this season, by all accounts from doing the research from years past, the last two seasons of MPGS softball a decade ago didn’t even result in a combined win total of six wins. So hats off to the girls this season. They accomplished a great feat in 2018, and coaches and parents should be proud.

Lingafelter certainly is proud of the girls and their determination. “One of the biggest things I can say about this group of girls, the sixth, seventh and eighth grade girls, and from what I see of it, it’s honestly more of a Mount Pulaski school thing, is these girls don’t have any quit in them.

"Most of our wins were come from behind. I think there was one win all season where we got out in the lead and could be guaranteed a win. That was against Illini Central. Other than that, we’ve always played catch up. And one of the biggest things I can say about these girls is this is one of the first teams I’ve seen never get down to quit. They always had a fight in them.”

In particular, the eighth grade girls with no quit in them are Makenna Wilham, Keyleigh Stewart, Makayla Harris, Jayda Allspach, Hailee Daigh, Jena Rentmeister and Josie Wakeman.

“That’s what’s good whenever you see a group like these eighth graders,” said Lingafelter. “That is contagious and they will pass that on. They will pass that down. And I’ve seen it in the seventh graders already. Even the sixth graders, you can tell already, will have that in them.”

Lingafelter believes his team had the confidence going into the opening round of regionals and that allowed them to knock off Sangamon Valley. But he instilled that confidence in them. He told them following the 13-9 regular season loss the week before that they better be ready to face Sangamon Valley again.

“I told them this is probably the team we’re going to be playing first game of the regionals and you girls can beat them. I think they came in with that confidence and they had 17 hits that game and no errors. We won 19-9. We came in on fire and we had zero errors that game. That was definitely our best game.”

As for the season ending loss against Springfield Calvary, Lingafelter said, “We just played a very good disciplined team who had a hard-throwing pitcher. They took advantage of our little errors and we struggled at the plate and just couldn’t get the runs across. We couldn’t make solid plays and they ended up getting the win over us.”

Still the future looks good for Mount Pulaski softball. Lingafelter anticipates the current eighth grade class will step up and help the high school team and the current seventh graders will take over the leadership role next season and lead the rest of the team for next year. “We’ve got a great group of kids coming back and I can’t wait to see what they do next year.”

A few other notable positives to take from this season include an impressive team batting average of .296 over the fifteen games. Lingafelter was also pleased at how coachable the girls were all season. He also truly appreciated the people who came up and told him throughout the season that they saw improvement in the girls.

“I had a lot of help with the program, too,” said Lingafelter. “Rex Tschantz and Chris Caslin were the assistant coaches on the team and definitely without their assistance we wouldn’t have been able to do as well.”

Lingafelter has previous coaching experience at Newton Community High School, where he coached his own daughter. With his experience and the knowledgeable coaching staff he’s assembled at both the junior high and high school level, Mount Pulaski is lucky to have him and all those involved who are focused on building the program.

[Teena Lowery with photos by Sarah Stone]