MPGS
softball holds their own in first season back after a long hiatus
Send a link to a friend
[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.”
[to top of second column] |
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] |