The Cassville baseball team fell 9-1 to Monett last week in the opening round of the Class 4, District 11 Tournament, but the season’s end did not dampen the hope from goals achieved.
Ron Hudson, Cassville baseball coach, said overall, the team improved in two major areas — mental toughness and defense.
“Early in the year, we were making some mental mistakes that ended up having negative effects, but we got so much better in that area,” he said. “Also, our defense improved a lot which gave us a much better chance of winning.”
That toughness was most evidenced in a 16-11 win over Clever, the final home game of the season. The Wildcats were down 7-2 going into the fourth, but came out with a 14-7 lead.
“We ended up scoring 12 runs in that inning, and they were all with two outs,” Hudson said. “That was an incredible experience and something the boys rallied around to beat a very good Clever team.”
Leading that bullpen was a roster of nine seniors, all of whom hold a place for Hudson.
“All of our seniors did a great job contributing, both on the field and off,” he said. “We will see what postseason awards come out. We have nine seniors this year, and they all played a big part in showing the underclassmen the right way to do things. I will miss this senior class. They are outstanding young men and I enjoyed coaching them and getting to know them. They are a very special group.”
That group was instrumental, Hudson said, in the team reaching some of its goals.
“One of our goals was to reach double-digit wins this year, which we achieved,” he said. “We also beat some teams this year that we haven’t beaten in a while like Lamar, East Newton, Seneca, and Clever. We didn’t end the season with a .500 team record and we didn’t win in districts, so those are goals we are still working toward. For next season our main goals will be to have a final record at, or above, .500 and to win in districts.”
Hoping to bolster the 2023 Cassville team will be two junior returning starters and two freshmen starters.
“We also have three or four other underclassmen who saw a lot of time in the field and on the mound and a couple returning from injury,” Hudson said. “Our JV team had a winning record, and they did a very good job of throwing strikes, making plays, and putting the ball into play. We are excited to see how they fit in next year.”
Hudson said throwing the opposite of strikes was an issue at times this season.
“I think we walked too many batters,” he said. “That is something we work on a lot, but we need to continue working on it moving forward.”
Ultimately, reaching those goals next season will rely on the basics.
“We need to just play the game better, throwing strikes, making plays, and putting the ball in play,” Hudson said.
The Wildcats finish the season at 10-16. In the district game against Monett, the Cubs kicked off the scoring in the first inning, with the batter reaching on an error and another plating the opening run.
Both teams scored in the second inning, with Cassville’s coming when Corey Thomas stole third on a passed ball, then tagged up on a line to center and hustled home to give an RBI to Keaton Shellenberger. Monett’s came via a wild pitch.
Cassville was left with multiple runners on in the game, loading the bases in the third and suffering from two men left on in the fourth.
It was the fifth where Monett really began to pull away. After an overthrow of first base, an attempt to catch a runner in between home and third resulted in two runners scoring and a 4-1 lead for the Cubs. The lead exploded in the bottom of the sixth after a Cub was hit by a pitch to score a run on the fully loaded bases. Another single scored a run, and a field er’s choice added another.
The game’s cap was a double on a fly ball over the left fielder’s head at the wall, giving two Cubs time to get home. Monett outhit the Cassville 5-1, and won the error battle, 1-5.
CASSVILLE BASEBALL
Record: 10-16
Last result: 9-1 loss to Monett in the district quarterfinals
More: 12-run, 2-out rally the highlight of season
