A youthful season for the Exeter softball team saw some goals met and some goals not, but the Lady Tigers are looking ahead and resetting with the goal of returning to the district title contest.
Ashley Fly, Exeter softball coach, said with only two seniors, it was a season full of ups and downs, and plenty of learning on the go.
“We fell short of the team goal that we set for our team early on in the season,” Fly said. “We had a really good season and surprised a lot of teams by beating them. We were a young team that grew a ton over the season.
“I knew we would be young, and when you are young, you play young sometimes. We played lights out some nights, and then we really showed our youth and struggled other nights. I knew we would struggle some, but the girls stepped up to my goals and expectations and showed up to play and work hard every day. Our goal is to always get back to where we ended in 2022, but it is a growing process, and we will set that goal for next year.”
The 2021 and 2022 campaigns were record-setters for Exeter, reaching the district championship games in backto- back seasons, but falling to Purdy and to Miller. This season, the No. 3 Lady Tigers were upset in the opening round of the Class 1, District 5 Tournament, falling to No. 6 Billings 10-9 in eight innings.
“[Our goal] is always to get back to where we ended in 2022 and take a district championship,” Fly said. “Realistically, our goal for next season is to see growth in these young ladies, have them come in and work hard day in and day out, then let the cards fall where they fall. The kids have the passion and the drive to get where they left in 2022, we just have to keep getting experience and keep working hard. One of our main goals would be to have fun and work hard. If you have fun and work hard, the win’s will come.”
Hard work paid off this year for the younger members, especially on the mound.
“Our pitching improved as the season went on,” Fly said. “Overall, we saw a lot of improvements defensively as the year progressed from start to finish. [Conversely], we struggled at bat this year. This is something that comes with age and at bats. The more at bats our kids see, the better they will be for the next season. We have to improve on pitch selection for next season.”
Leaving Exeter will be two seniors who had major impacts on the program — Madison Crumpler and Emma Sorensen.
“Our two seniors played a huge role in the big wins we came up with, [and they] also displayed a lot of leadership,” Fly said. “They showed up every day, gave it their all and contributed in some way every game. We will miss their contributions to the game and the leadership they brought to the team.
“These two young ladies leave a legacy behind that has put a love of softball into many little girls in the Exeter community. We will miss Madison and Emma, but we know they will both do great things in the next chapter of their lives.” The pair contributed to many memorable contests at Exeter, including two wins this year over teams where the Lady Tigers were not favored.
“The exciting moments we had this season would be coming from behind and beating Clever and Pierce City,” Fly said. “These were teams we were not supposed to beat us, but our kids came back and fought to get the wins. We went 10 innings with Clever, and our kids were engaged and brought their best game that night. In the Pierce City game, we came from behind to put up some runs to outplay them the last two innings of the game.”
Going into next season, Fly believes her youth have gained some experience that will prove beneficial.
“We were young this year, so our underclassmen will have some experience under their belt,” she said. “They will have to step up and bring their game, day in and day out.”
