This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Westminster Softball Hopes to Defend Conference Title with Explosive Offense

The Wildcats, coached by former major-league pitcher Andy Benes, were undefeated in the MWAA II Conference last year.

If the first three games of the season were any indication, it is going to be a wild and crazy fall for the softball team.

The 5-1 Wildcats, who won the MWAA II Conference last season en route to a 12-9 season, scored 31 runs in wins over Kirkwood and DuBourg and an extra-inning loss to Rockwood Summit.

Westminster won the Kirkwood game despite leaving 16 runners on base and committing eight errors, a combination which almost always leads to a loss.

Find out what's happening in Town And Country-Manchesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Wildcats stranded another dozen runners in the loss to Summit in which they were one strike away from victory. Westminster loaded the bases with nobody out in the eighth inning but failed to score.

Westminster committed five errors in the first inning and gave up six unearned runs and still defeated DuBourg.

Find out what's happening in Town And Country-Manchesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"We return everybody with the exception of our shortstop and we scored a lot of runs last year," said Wildcats coach Andy Benes, a long-time former major-league pitcher.

"We should be able to score a lot this year with the girls being a year older and more experienced and our pitchers throws strikes. The whole key is to play good defense which we have not done so far."

The potent Wildcats attack is led by senior catcher Ellie Huffman, who is a Division I prospect according to Benes. Huffmen hit .500 last year with a team leading 23 runs batted in.

Westminster returns two other players who hit over .400 last season. Senior Jocelyn Sheffield, who moves to shortstop from the outfield,  hit .467 while senior center fielder Bryn McKie hit .443.

Senior first baseman Brynn Benes (.367 with 19 RBI) and junior second baseman Summer Smith (.322) are other proven varsity hitters.

Junior Jessica Johnson was the primary pitcher last year and will probably be so again this fall. She was 10-7 with a 4.09 ERA.

"We would like to defend our conference title this  year and the next goal is to win district and play as long as we can," Benes said."

Visitation Academy Making Strides With Program

returns a pair of .500 plus hitters from a team which was 9-7 last season.

Junior catcher Katie Brueggemann led the team with a .531 average. Sophomore Anna McKee hit .500.

Senior outfielder Erin Finnegan and junior Mikaela Meyer are other returning starters.

The Vivettes have a lot of pitching depth with the return of junior Maddie Klasener, who was 6-5 last season. McKee will also do some pitching as will a pair of freshmen, Alyssa Henderson and Emma Mitchell.

"Softball at our school in the past was known as a joke," Visitation coach Katie Palacios said. "We are trying to continue to grow the sport here and keep on getting the respect that they deserve."

Visitation finished 3-2 in the league which was a game ahead of Principia. The Panthers were 9-12 overall.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Town And Country-Manchester