2013 Preview: Whiteoak Lady Wildcats Softball
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Coming off a six-win season, the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats know there are better days ahead, and they want those days to start this season as they are set to embark on a season where they want to compete for wins.
To compete for those wins, they have the pitcher that can lead the way in sophomore Kiley Sosby, as she this past January pitched on a team representing the United States in The Netherlands.
In the circle last season for the six-win Lady Wildcats, Sosby finished with an ERA of 3.63 as she pitched 152 innings. The current sophomore struck out 257 batters as she faced 774 batters in 13 complete games. She finished with two shutouts as WHS won a sectional title and played in the district round of the postseason.
Not only was Sosby the only pitcher for WHS, but she was their leading hitter as she batted .493 on the season, with a slugging percentage of .841, along with an on-base percentage of .568. Sosby last year, in 69 at-bats, had 34 hits (nine doubles, three triples, three home runs), totaled 58 bases, had 13 RBIs and walked nine times. She struck out just seven times in 81 total plate appearances.
"Kiley has worked hard in the offseason," WHS head coach Brett Malone said. "She matured, and as a team leader, she's more vocal.
"She wants to improve from last year, and she had a great year last season."
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Not only is Sosby returning, but WHS returns nine total players who have had varsity experience. Returning are seniors Kendra Parker, Mikayla Burns, Morgan Miller and Christine Hamilton (who missed her junior year with an injury). Juniors this season returning are Makayla Wescott and Rikki Morris. Sophomores are Sosby, Jayde Parr and Caitlyn Arledge.
Burns had the second highest batting average last season at .262 with 16 hits, 11 runs and 10 RBIs.
Freshmen this season will be Ashleigh Harless, Hayley Nace, Kayla Smallwood and Jenny Westfall.
"If we play together as a team, we can compete in the conference," Malone said of competing in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. "Fairfield and Fayetteville will be tough in our division, and I believe with our pitching and improvement, we can compete in this conference."
Getting to the top of the conference, Malone said they must improve on the 6-18 mark from one season ago, and to that, their defense must see vast changes.
"We have to play a lot better on defense," he said. "We have to play situations better. Last year, we had girls playing in new spots; this year, there should be fewer mental mistakes, especially with Christine (Hamilton) back in the outfield. She has an arm.
"I also believe all the seniors need to step up. A few of them have played multiple seasons at varsity, and I believe they will step up their game this year. Winning the sectional last year was big for this program. It showed they can play with anybody on any given day, and I'm hoping there will be a lot of that this season."
To compete for those wins, they have the pitcher that can lead the way in sophomore Kiley Sosby, as she this past January pitched on a team representing the United States in The Netherlands.
In the circle last season for the six-win Lady Wildcats, Sosby finished with an ERA of 3.63 as she pitched 152 innings. The current sophomore struck out 257 batters as she faced 774 batters in 13 complete games. She finished with two shutouts as WHS won a sectional title and played in the district round of the postseason.
Not only was Sosby the only pitcher for WHS, but she was their leading hitter as she batted .493 on the season, with a slugging percentage of .841, along with an on-base percentage of .568. Sosby last year, in 69 at-bats, had 34 hits (nine doubles, three triples, three home runs), totaled 58 bases, had 13 RBIs and walked nine times. She struck out just seven times in 81 total plate appearances.
"Kiley has worked hard in the offseason," WHS head coach Brett Malone said. "She matured, and as a team leader, she's more vocal.
"She wants to improve from last year, and she had a great year last season."
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Not only is Sosby returning, but WHS returns nine total players who have had varsity experience. Returning are seniors Kendra Parker, Mikayla Burns, Morgan Miller and Christine Hamilton (who missed her junior year with an injury). Juniors this season returning are Makayla Wescott and Rikki Morris. Sophomores are Sosby, Jayde Parr and Caitlyn Arledge.
Burns had the second highest batting average last season at .262 with 16 hits, 11 runs and 10 RBIs.
Freshmen this season will be Ashleigh Harless, Hayley Nace, Kayla Smallwood and Jenny Westfall.
"If we play together as a team, we can compete in the conference," Malone said of competing in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. "Fairfield and Fayetteville will be tough in our division, and I believe with our pitching and improvement, we can compete in this conference."
Getting to the top of the conference, Malone said they must improve on the 6-18 mark from one season ago, and to that, their defense must see vast changes.
"We have to play a lot better on defense," he said. "We have to play situations better. Last year, we had girls playing in new spots; this year, there should be fewer mental mistakes, especially with Christine (Hamilton) back in the outfield. She has an arm.
"I also believe all the seniors need to step up. A few of them have played multiple seasons at varsity, and I believe they will step up their game this year. Winning the sectional last year was big for this program. It showed they can play with anybody on any given day, and I'm hoping there will be a lot of that this season."