After back-to-back memorable seasons, the College Heights softball team with McAuley Catholic returns the bulk of its starting roster from a season ago to go along with plenty of new additions with expectations of another strong campaign in 2023.
“We are very excited!,” College Heights coach Mike Howard said to SoMo Sports. “With most of our returning starters back, combined with all the new faces, depth will no longer be an issue. We will also be able to play several JV games and develop the younger players at a faster pace.”
Two years ago, the Cougars finished with an 18-4 record, a conference title and a district title. Last year, CHC came away with a program-high 19 wins to go along with five losses and added a second straight Ozark 7 crown before taking a loss in the postseason earlier than the Cougars envisioned. With the majority of that team back, including several all-conference, region and state players, College Heights returns with a purpose and is motivated after last season didn’t end how they wanted.
“We have unfinished business,” Howard said. “After a solid 2022 season that ended with a program-record 19 wins and a second consecutive conference championship, we were upset in the semifinals of the district tournament by Pierce City. We have the majority of that team back and several new faces that will push our returning players to be even better. The girls are hungry to get back to the district title game and take care of business.”
College Heights welcomes back eight players who either started or saw extensive varsity innings last season. Leading the list of returners is two-time all-state senior catcher Jayli Johnson, senior 3B Lauren Ukena, senior first-team all-conference CF Addie Lawrence, senior second-team all-conference 2B Aaliyah Perez as well as junior two-time first-team all-region P Maddy Colin, junior first-team all-region OF Kloee Williamson, junior OF Avery Shuemaker and sophomore OF Kallie Spencer.
The Cougars also have a lengthy list of newcomers to the varsity roster, senior 1B Emma Angel, junior OFs Lauren Nichols and Katie Moss, sophomore OFs Ava Lett and Kinley Marsh as well as eight freshmen—UTL Allie Stout, UTL Jesalin Bever, UTL Lilly Plassman, UTL Karly Dorris, 2B Elsie Welch, OF Lily Lackey, 1B Whitney Lawrence and OF Molly George.
“We are overjoyed with the number of players we have this year,” Howard said. “Coach (John) Blankenship really did a stellar job in recruiting girls within the school to give softball a try. While we have several who are new to the sport, they are all very coachable and continue to work hard.
“They are absorbing the instructions given to them like a sponge because we see improvement every day. We are grateful to be their coaches and are hopeful they are having fun and that they continue to play in the future. We want them to have pride in representing their school through sport and to benefit from all the positive characteristics that are obtained with being a member of a team.”
Colin brings back a 17-5 record with a 1.06 ERA, 254 strikes and 18 walks from last season in the circle as the Cougars’ catalyst. She has a career record of 34-9 to go along with 478 strikeouts, 30 walks and an ERA of 1.33 with two seasons in her high school career remaining. At the plate last season, Colin hit .493 with 34 total hits, eight doubles, a triple, home run and 30 RBI.
Johnson, who earned all-state honors as a shortstop as a sophomore before garnering all-state honors as a catcher last season, brings back a .528 batting average, .736 slugging percentage and .622 on-base percentage. She had 38 total hits, seven doubles and three triples and finished with 44 runs scored, 30 stolen bases and 20 RBI.
Williamson hit .590 as a sophomore to earn all-region honors, tallying 46 hits, nine doubles, three triples and a home run to go along with 28 stolen bases, 28 RBI and 42 runs scored. She slugged .821 and reached base at a .636 clip.
Lawrence, who will miss the first month of the season recovering from knee surgery, closed last season with a .402 batting average. She had 33 hits, nine doubles, four triples and a pair of home runs. Lawrence scored 28 runs, stole 22 bases and finished with a program-record 47 RBI.
Perez hit .288 with one triple, eight RBI, 10 runs and seven stolen bases last year for CHC.
College Heights opens the season with a home matchup against Springfield Catholic on Tuesday.
