Whitko Teams Enjoying Success On Diamond
June 2, 2017 at 3:40 p.m.
Whitko Teams Enjoying Success On Diamond
By Mark [email protected]
Both the softball and baseball teams are in unchartered territory for the Wildcats, with the softball squad making its first appearance in the semistate, and the baseball team doing likewise at the regional level.
The trouble is both teams will play about the same time in locations about 75 miles apart. The Lady Wildcats play No. 3 South Adams at Newton Park in Lakeville, while the baseball team takes on Wapahani at Wabash High School. Both games start 30 minutes after the completion of 11 a.m. games.
“We’ve got at least one, maybe two relative situations where they have to figure out where to go, I guess,” baseball coach Erik Hisner said.
The Whitko teams have a lot in common. Both are ranked No. 10 in their respective coaches polls; they tend to pitch to contact and place a premium on defensive fundamentals; and both are battle-tested, having played in a bunch of hard-fought games.
Sophomore Ellie Snep had done the vast majority of the pitching for the Lady Wildcats. Snep doesn’t have an overpowering arm, but always remains calm, even in high-pressure situations.
“She’s pretty even keeled. You can’t tell if she’s having a good day or a bad day just by looking at her,” softball coach Michele Garr said. “That calm rubs off on everyone else.
After the regional win, Snep said she knows she can rely on her teammates to get the job done.
“We’ve been through so much together this season that I know if I can make a good pitch, they can make the play behind me,” she said.
Drew Bradford has established himself as the ace of the Wildcat staff, with a no-hitter to his credit and a few games with double-digit strikeouts. But with a big chunk of offense graduating from last year’s baseball team, Hisner said the Wildcats would need to change its emphasis this season.
“We knew going in to the year our strength would be pitching and defense. We graduated a lot of offense from three- and four-years starter. So we knew we were going to have to place a premium on those two things,” he said.
“In games where we haven’t pitched well, or played poor defense, we’ve struggled, but when we have done those things well we’ve been able to compete. We did a really good job on defense in the sectional; I can think back and remember a lot of plays where if we don’t make them, the game’s probably going to go the other way.”
Hisner said the Wildcat baseball team has grown through playing tight ballgames, whether they won them or not.
“We’ve been in a lot of close games, and been on both ends, which I think has helped us. You never want to lose, but I think to a certain degree when you lose games like we did at Peru in 10 innings, or even last week at Bellmont in eight innings, you gain some confidence from being in that situation,” Hisner said.
“I told the guys that when you’re in a situation where the game is riding on every pitch, it makes you feel better later when you get in those same situations.”
One significant difference between the two Whitko teams was experience at the beginning of the year. The baseball team starts seven seniors, while the softball team had only three.
“This is the first time I’ve had a group with a lot of experience,”?Hisner said. “We start seven seniors, where in the past we’ve had more of a mix of classes. So its nice to have a group that when we get in pressure situations, they’re battle tested and have something to go back on. I can only imagine what it was like for the players in the sectional; for me it was pretty nerve wracking. But we’re playing with a lot of confidence because of all the time the kids have put in and the experience with all the close games we’ve had.”
Garr said the underclassmen wanted to send the three Lady Wildcat seniors out in style.
“We have three seniors, and the girls really wanted to win the sectional, not only for themselves but for the three seniors,” she said. “It was really special that they could do it not just for the three of them but for Whitko as a whole. We hadn’t done it in a long time; actually none of them could remember the last time we had won a sectional. It was a big deal for them to win it.
“They’re a very tight-knit group. They’re constantly picking each other up and helping each other out. They keep each other relaxed and they like to pull pranks on each other, kind of a ‘I got you before you got me’ thing. They’re really good about wanting each other to have success, and that way the team has success. They always put the ‘we’ before the ‘me’ and I think that’s why we’ve had a lot of success.”
With two teams to pull for, what’s a Whitko fan to do? Well, the forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of rain, so maybe if it rains at one site but not the other, that would work.
What’s more likely is fans at one site getting text messages from fans at the other place, or following through social media. Regardless, Saturday is one of the biggest days in Whitko athletic history.
If the Lady Wildcats win, they’ll play the winner between No. 1 Elwood and No. 11 Boone Grove Saturday night for the right to play for the state title. Boone Grove beat No. 15 Hammond Bishop Noll 3-2 in 23 innings over two days to advance to the semistate.
If the baseball team beats Wapahani, it’ll play either No. 1 Lafayette Central Catholic or Blackford on Saturday night for the regional title.
Both the softball and baseball teams are in unchartered territory for the Wildcats, with the softball squad making its first appearance in the semistate, and the baseball team doing likewise at the regional level.
The trouble is both teams will play about the same time in locations about 75 miles apart. The Lady Wildcats play No. 3 South Adams at Newton Park in Lakeville, while the baseball team takes on Wapahani at Wabash High School. Both games start 30 minutes after the completion of 11 a.m. games.
“We’ve got at least one, maybe two relative situations where they have to figure out where to go, I guess,” baseball coach Erik Hisner said.
The Whitko teams have a lot in common. Both are ranked No. 10 in their respective coaches polls; they tend to pitch to contact and place a premium on defensive fundamentals; and both are battle-tested, having played in a bunch of hard-fought games.
Sophomore Ellie Snep had done the vast majority of the pitching for the Lady Wildcats. Snep doesn’t have an overpowering arm, but always remains calm, even in high-pressure situations.
“She’s pretty even keeled. You can’t tell if she’s having a good day or a bad day just by looking at her,” softball coach Michele Garr said. “That calm rubs off on everyone else.
After the regional win, Snep said she knows she can rely on her teammates to get the job done.
“We’ve been through so much together this season that I know if I can make a good pitch, they can make the play behind me,” she said.
Drew Bradford has established himself as the ace of the Wildcat staff, with a no-hitter to his credit and a few games with double-digit strikeouts. But with a big chunk of offense graduating from last year’s baseball team, Hisner said the Wildcats would need to change its emphasis this season.
“We knew going in to the year our strength would be pitching and defense. We graduated a lot of offense from three- and four-years starter. So we knew we were going to have to place a premium on those two things,” he said.
“In games where we haven’t pitched well, or played poor defense, we’ve struggled, but when we have done those things well we’ve been able to compete. We did a really good job on defense in the sectional; I can think back and remember a lot of plays where if we don’t make them, the game’s probably going to go the other way.”
Hisner said the Wildcat baseball team has grown through playing tight ballgames, whether they won them or not.
“We’ve been in a lot of close games, and been on both ends, which I think has helped us. You never want to lose, but I think to a certain degree when you lose games like we did at Peru in 10 innings, or even last week at Bellmont in eight innings, you gain some confidence from being in that situation,” Hisner said.
“I told the guys that when you’re in a situation where the game is riding on every pitch, it makes you feel better later when you get in those same situations.”
One significant difference between the two Whitko teams was experience at the beginning of the year. The baseball team starts seven seniors, while the softball team had only three.
“This is the first time I’ve had a group with a lot of experience,”?Hisner said. “We start seven seniors, where in the past we’ve had more of a mix of classes. So its nice to have a group that when we get in pressure situations, they’re battle tested and have something to go back on. I can only imagine what it was like for the players in the sectional; for me it was pretty nerve wracking. But we’re playing with a lot of confidence because of all the time the kids have put in and the experience with all the close games we’ve had.”
Garr said the underclassmen wanted to send the three Lady Wildcat seniors out in style.
“We have three seniors, and the girls really wanted to win the sectional, not only for themselves but for the three seniors,” she said. “It was really special that they could do it not just for the three of them but for Whitko as a whole. We hadn’t done it in a long time; actually none of them could remember the last time we had won a sectional. It was a big deal for them to win it.
“They’re a very tight-knit group. They’re constantly picking each other up and helping each other out. They keep each other relaxed and they like to pull pranks on each other, kind of a ‘I got you before you got me’ thing. They’re really good about wanting each other to have success, and that way the team has success. They always put the ‘we’ before the ‘me’ and I think that’s why we’ve had a lot of success.”
With two teams to pull for, what’s a Whitko fan to do? Well, the forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of rain, so maybe if it rains at one site but not the other, that would work.
What’s more likely is fans at one site getting text messages from fans at the other place, or following through social media. Regardless, Saturday is one of the biggest days in Whitko athletic history.
If the Lady Wildcats win, they’ll play the winner between No. 1 Elwood and No. 11 Boone Grove Saturday night for the right to play for the state title. Boone Grove beat No. 15 Hammond Bishop Noll 3-2 in 23 innings over two days to advance to the semistate.
If the baseball team beats Wapahani, it’ll play either No. 1 Lafayette Central Catholic or Blackford on Saturday night for the regional title.
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