Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012
The Inside Track Gordon Bess
Softball programs are gaining altitude, and not just the state-bound Tigers
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all it renewal, revitalization or a flat-out renaissance, something is up in Jefferson County prep softball. And I do mean Up. Festus leads the parade, of course, by achieving its first-ever final four appearance. The Tigers will go after a Class 3 state championship starting at 1 p.m. Friday in a semifinal against Grain Valley, the District 14 champion. But this goes well beyond one team. Going into the district tournaments that began Oct. 3, the 11 teams in the See SOFTBALL, Page 53
Leader Athlete of the Week Andrew Sawdy Crystal City football S a w d y, a 5 - 11 , 1 5 2 - p o u n d sophomore receiver and defensive back, caught 11 passes for 116 yards and scored the decisive touchdown in Crystal City’s 14-7 Homecoming game victory over St. Pius on Friday. His 39-yard touchdown catch, on a pass from Peyton Pollock, was a thing of beauty as he broke numerous tackles on his way to the end zone. He also had 19 tackles as a defender the week before in the Hornets’ loss to Herculaneum. Check out the Athlete of the Week every Sunday after 6 p.m. at our website, myleaderpaper.com.
Jefferson County Leader
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Tigers’ next stop: Springfield semifinal By Gordon Bess For the Leader
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ome softball teams can pitch. Some can play defense. And some can muster up timely hitting. Championship teams do all three consistently. It remains to be seen whether the Festus Tigers are state-championship caliber. But they had all three vital ingredients in Saturday’s Class 3 quarterfinal contest and earned a 9-4 victory over host Kennedy. The victory punches the Tigers’ ticket for the final four this weekend in Springfield, where head coach Jeff Montgomery’s squad will get to test its championship mettle. “I’m just real happy for our program, our school and our kids,” Montgomery said in the visitors’ dugout after the game. “I’m very fortunate to have such a strong group of kids this year – just real excited about it.” The Tigers advanced to Saturday’s game with a businesslike 8-3 victory at home over District 1 champion Park Hills Central in a sectional game on Oct. 10. Tiffany Link stroked a three-run double in the sixth inning to widen the Festus lead to 8-1 and pitcher Mollie Carter struck out 10, including three in the last inning, as the Tigers led the whole way. On Saturday, Festus went up 1-0 in the first inning on Lauren Todd’s RBI single, driving in Breanna Peters. But the Tigers fell behind 2-1 in the bottom half of the frame with an uncharacteristic throwing error that was more costly than usual because Kennedy’s diamond has an enormous swath of foul territory down both base lines. The Tigers drew even at 2-2 in the third with Todd again coming through, smacking a line drive off Celt pitcher Amanda Cabrera to chase home Cheyenne Pratt, who had doubled. It stayed that way until the fifth, when Todd doubled to left field to drive in Pratt and Peters. Link hit a bloop two-run single later in the inning and Carol Floyd capped the rally with a sacrifice fly for an RBI that left the Tigers in command at 7-2. Kennedy got two of those runs back in the fifth, but it could have been a bigger rally had Peters not tracked down a long fly ball in right field for the first out. Then the Tigers tacked on two more insurance runs in the sixth on an error and Carter’s RBI base hit. Kennedy’s best hitters were lined up in the bottom of the seventh and the first of them, Kathleen Miller, drew a leadoff walk. But Carter struck out her opposite number, Cabrera. Then Taylor Miller hit a sharp grounder up the middle and Tiger shortstop Sarah Weidner snagged it, stepped on second and fired to Link at first base for a game-ending and state-
Ted Howell photos
Festus shortstop Sarah Weidner, left, and third baseman Carol Floyd celebrate the Tigers’ win over Park Hills Central in their Class 3 sectional contest.
qualifying double play. “I couldn’t ask for a better defense,” Carter said. “Sarah making that double play was probably the best play of the whole game. “My pitches were working, (but) I didn’t perform like I would like to,” she added. “But my defense came through for me. That’s all I needed.” Montgomery noted the key defensive
plays as well. “We p l ay ed great defense when we had to,” he said. “Breanna Peters makes that play in right field when she gets turned around, and she catches the ball. Our defense in the outfield has been great all year. C h e y e n n e P r a t t We strung hits tos n a g s a p o p u p gether. in the win over “ We h a d a Kennedy. rough first inning, things looked a little bleak. But this group has been battle-tested all year, so I knew we were OK. This group of kids doesn’t get too worked up when we’re losing. I liked their chances once Mollie got settled in.” The Tiger mentor also underscored how well his team approached the game, staying loose but focused before and during the contest. “It’s just confidence. I’ve done this long enough to know you can’t pressure kids. It’s the worst thing you can do. We try to keep things as normal as possible. That’s not anything new; I didn’t invent that. I think that’s a smart philosophy. “They were ready to go this morning. We hit before we came up here. We were just very focused and very loose and ready to play.” Festus will make its first-ever trip to the semifinals. The team’s 26 victories (against two losses) is a school record, three better than the old mark. Two more wins will give the Tigers a state championship. It all starts with a semifinal against Grain Valley (24-6) Friday at 1 p.m. Montgomery will have his club ready. “We’ve got to get rested and work on some things and get sharp,” he said. “I want the kids to enjoy it. We’re going to go down there and play hard and try to have fun too.”
Ashley Davis slides safely into second ahead of the throw to Park Hills Central shortstop Georgia Richardson.