(Anita) CAM hosts Exira-EHK in a softball/baseball doubleheader that will air on KSOM Wednesday evening.
The Cougar softball team has shown some good flashes including a stretch where they won six game out of seven. Head coach Larry Hunt says, “We are still a fairly young team. We start four freshmen and a sophomore. We’ve battled through a few injuries that we’ve had already this spring. Overall I’m very pleased with where we are at. We still have growth to do, but we are making pretty good progress.”
Hunt says the biggest strength has been the juniors stepping up as leaders in the absence of any seniors on the team. Among the key contributors in that class are Maddy Holtz, Marissa Spieker, Helen Riker, Mady McKee, and Mallory Behnken.
Entering play this week the Cougars had allowed three runs or fewer in six of their nine games. Helen Riker, Marissa Spieker, and Emma Follmann have all contributed in the circle. “We can change speeds on them. We have three different kids that throw for us. Even if we start Marissa and bring in Helen at the end, it’s two totally different pitchers that they have to adapt to. That depth has allowed us to keep hitters off balance a little bit.”
On Wednesday they’ll face one of the two unbeaten teams in the conference when Exira-EHK comes to town. The 10-2 Spartans are led by Macy Emgarten with 90 strikeouts and a 1.94 ERA. “We have to stay off of her high stuff, but we have to stay aggressive. She’s not going to walk many. She’s seasoned and she’s a talented, talented girl and so we have to hit the pitches she throws us in the zone and be disciplined enough to lay off the stuff out of the zone. Tough challenge.”
Coach Hunt says defensively his team will need to keep Exira-EHK off the base paths and limit the big inning. Pregame coverage hits the air at approximately 5:20 p.m. with a 5:30 first pitch.
