The Williamsburg Lady Wildcats softball team celebrates with the district championship trophy after defeating Franklin Monroe 11-2 at Mason High School on Monday night.

By Garth Shanklin
Sports Editor

The Williamsburg Lady Wildcats softball team celebrates with the district championship trophy after defeating Franklin Monroe 11-2 at Mason High School on Monday night.

One streak came to an end at Mason High School on Monday night, but a much more important one continued for the Williamsburg Lady Wildcats softball team.

The squad gave up their first runs of the postseason but otherwise dominated Franklin Monroe in an 11-2 district championship victory.

Head coach Rick Healey was happy with how his team played and said the victory “feels good.”

“Any time you win a district championship and you’re going to the regionals, it’s got to feel good,” Healey said.

It’s easy to see why Healey was happy with his team’s effort. After going down in order in the first inning, Williamsburg had to escape a bit of a jam in the bottom of the first. Kacey Smith surrendered a walk and a throwing error on the first basemen put runners on second and third with no outs.

However, Smith coaxed a strikeout of the next hitter and a popup by the cleanup hitter ended the frame without any damage.

The Lady Wildcats did some damage in the second inning. Morgan Gullet led off the frame by fouling off several pitches before doubling into right field. After a groundout to second base for the first out, four straight hits would eventually result in five runs for the Lady Wildcats. They would tally seven runs on eight hits in the frame and take a commanding 7-0 lead.

Gullett would single in her second at-bat that inning, and would add a second double and an RBI later in the game. She pulls most of her hits to left field, Healey said, though in her first at-bat against the Lady Jets she was able to go the opposite direction.

“She’s always solid,” Healey said. “Coaching third base when she’s up, she’s a pull hitter. She actually went the other way tonight, but she’s a pull hitter and she hits rockets. She has all season. I joked and said I need to wear a helmet or body armor when I’m coaching third with her. She hits the ball hard and always has.”

Healey also noted Gullett had a pair of hard hits in the team’s regional final loss last season, adding that he believed she was able to carry that momentum through the entire season this year.

It’s not just Gullett providing the offense, however. Eight Lady Wildcats sported batting averages over .424 entering the game against Franklin Monroe, with Kacey Smith leading all hitters at a whopping .682.

“We have worked on hitting a lot for the whole season,” Healey said. “At this point…these girls can hit. I’ve got to give a lot of the credit to the fact that their parents have had them in AAU ball since they were knee-high. All I have to do is fine-tune it and get them in the batting cage.”

Healey also acknowledged his team’s power prowess, as four of his players had at least three home runs on the season before the start of the game, with Smith and Carly Wagers adding one to their respective total during the game.

“It’s a blessing to know that I’ve got, looking through my lineup, seven of them who can hit it over the fence,” Healey said. “It’s nice to say that. I’m not boasting, it’s just they have throughout the season. Some of them have done it multiple times.”

Williamsburg added two runs each in the fourth and sixth inning, giving them their 11-run total. The pitching staff may have seen their scoreless inning streak come to an end, but Healey knows the team’s starters are constantly working to get better in the circle.

“It’s not hard when you say, ‘Hey, take Sunday off and relax’ and find out Kacey [Smith] is up doing a full workout on her own,” Healey said. “Carley [Wagers] is just a sophomore. She’s got a lot in front of her. For her it’s if she stays focused, you’ll start working and stay positive, there will be a lot of schools wanting her to come play for them.”

Healey was also quick to note that most of the credit for the teams’ success this season should be given to the players themselves, not the coach.

“It’s not me,” Healey said. “The girls have worked hard, they deserve everything they get. I get to be the captain of the ship and guide it, but they’re the ones that make it happen.”

The team squared off against Georgetown in a regional semifinal game on May 25 that was not completed before press time. Williamsburg had defeated Georgetown twice this season, which reminded Healey of when his team faced a similar situation in 2010.

Williamsburg had lost a pair of 1-0 games to Felicity, a fellow Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference foe, before facing the Lady Cardinals a third time in the regional semifinals. The Lady Wildcats got the upper hand in that game, defeating Felicity 4-3 to advance to the regional finals, where they were defeated 4-0 by Pleasant Hill.

Healey said he’s going to tell his team about that game, adding that if the team believes in themselves they will advance in the tournament.

“That’s going to be my message to this team,” Healey said. “You look at 2010 and it’ll show you what can happen. If you stay ahead of that, and say it won’t happen to us, then good things will happen.”