Even with many key holes to fill, expectations are still high for the Durant High School softball team for continuing its run of Class 5A state tournament appearances to an 11th straight year.
The Lady Lions lost eight seniors, including both main pitchers, but welcome back a talented cast that head coach Jimmie Wyrick believes just needs the experience of more varsity playing time to be right back in district title contention.
“We have a whole lot of girls that saw JV time a year ago, because of our heavy number of seniors, that will be counted on to make the jump,” he commented. “They have good talent that just need varsity reps.”
Four returning starters for the Lady Lions are headlined by the District Defensive Player of the Year a season ago in senior Lylith Harris.
The Durant backstop notched a solid .962 fielding percentage behind the plate, committing only seven errors in 183 chances. She threw out 12 of 60 possible base stealers and also chipped in a .224 average at the plate offensively with five doubles and 24 runs batted in.
Wyrick also welcomes back three honorable mention All-District performers in senior infielder Addi Pratt, junior second baseman McKenzee Petty and senior centerfielder Raelynn Clark, with all expected to add to their offensive numbers this season after picking up valuable experience.
Pratt hit .198 with a double and seven RBI, Petty batted .227 with a double, home run and seven knocked in while Clark is the team’s top returning hitter with a .290 average that included a pair of doubles, one triple and 10 batted in.
The Lady Lions will have several options on the left side of the infield with juniors Mia Ibarra and Brynn Ritenour at third base along with junior Ajonay Samuel and senior Amyia Walker expected to see time at shortstop. Pratt, freshman Emma Sherrer and Bailey Vojta will also be vying for time at first base. Several others will challenge for spots in the outfield to join Clark.
“We may take a committee approach to figure out the best way to put the puzzle to-Matt gether,” Wyrick said. “Summer ball revealed a lot to us and a lot of positives. We have been hitting the ball well and I think we might be better offensively this year than we were a year ago. We are going to have to bunt a little more, however, and utilize the small ball game. We are more athletic, and I think we will be faster in the lineup. We are going to be good on the base paths.
“Our defense will be sound. We are not deep in the pitching circle, so we are going to have to be solid there. I would love to average a run per inning. If we can come close to that we’ll win a lot of games with our defensive ability.”
The pitching staff will have a plethora of new faces after losing catalysts Bellamy Knight and Sawyer Strange to graduation.
Pratt is the only player that saw varsity action in the pitching circle, tossing 8 2/3 innings in four appearances with a 2-0 record in which she struck out seven and walked none with a 0.80 earned run average.
She’ll need to take on much more of the load along with Sherrer, who will see her first high school action.
“Pratt has been really good during the summer and proven herself in the circle,” the Lady Lion head coach said. “She is not a power pitcher but pitches to contact. Emma is going to be really good, and Amyia Walker will also get some innings. I feel good about where we are at and headed in the future in the circle. We have some talented pitchers coming in the pipeline from junior high in the next few years.”
The Lady Lions will once again wear the “road warriors” tag early in the season with their first home date not slated until August 20. They’ll open with important district contests on the road Monday and Tuesday at Collinsville and Shawnee before traveling to the always rugged Broken Arrow Tournament.
With festivals at Murray State along with Bixby and Northeastern State as well as the Bixby Tournament and Durant’s own invitational September 12-14 they’ll definitely be batted tested come playoff time.
“We are trying to get a lot of road trips early before class starts,” Wyrick added. “We are back-to-back state academic champs, so class time is important to this group. We always have long road trips, so we had to get creative with the schedule to avoid missing too much class time. We play a lot of Saturdays.
Durant 2024 Softball Schedule
Aug. 12 Collinsville Away Aug. 13 Shawnee Away Aug. 16-17 Broken Arrow Tourney Away Aug. 19 McAlester Away Aug. 20 Glenpool Home Aug. 23-24 Murray State Festival Away Aug. 26 Tishomingo Home Aug. 29 Tahlequah Away Sept. 3 Shawnee Home Sept. 6-7 Bixby Tournament Away Sept. 9 McAlester Home Sept. 12-14 Durant Tournament Home Sept. 17 Tahlequah Home Sept. 19 Glenpool Away Sept. 21 Broken Bow Away Sept. 23 Collinsville Home Sept. 24 Latta Away Sept. 26 NSU Festival Away Sept. 30 Kingston Away Oct. 1 Caddo Away Oct. 3 Bixby Festival Away
We rolled into state last year with a losing record and the schedule is as tough this year, if not tougher.
“We added Kingston to the schedule and are playing Caddo and Tishomingo. It’s always good to get some close games against very good competition. I know we can improve on our record from last year. We have a good shot at the district title again this year. Tahlequah is going to be really good again, but we are in the mix. It all depends on defense and consistently applying pressure offensively.”
