That’s how the Jefferson College softball team began its season on Feb. 15 in Booneville, Miss., after it shut out Arkansas State University 11-0 and beat East Central Community College (Decatur, Miss.) 12-10 and Wabash Valley College (Mount Carmel, Ill.) 9-5.
“We showed a lot of character. East Central is very good,” Jefferson College head coach Tony Cook said. “Wabash Valley was 51-10 (last year) and has won the (Great Rivers Athletic Conference) three straight seasons. I felt really good about the way we competed with them. Our pitchers kept the walks down and our hitting was very good.”
Freshman Camryn Clark (Windsor) pitched one scoreless inning of relief in the opener against Arkansas State and hurled all six innings in the victory over Wabash. In the win over the Warriors, only one of the five runs Clark allowed was earned.
When she played for the Owls, Clark had an explosive bat. When not in the circle, Clark plays first base. In her first three games with the Vikings, Clark had three hits and scored four runs.
“Camryn gave us a spark with how she threw,” Cook said.
Freshmen Kristina Bettis and Tressa Hughes were the other two Viking pitchers to take their turn in the circle in the first three games. Bettis struck out six batters in four innings, while Hughes gave up six hits and eight runs (four earned) in her 3 1/3 frames.
As a freshman in 2018, Corryn Hill led the Vikings in innings pitched (154 1/3), wins (20) and strikeouts (169) last year but is not on the team this season. Cook said the loss of Hill wasn’t too much of a concern.
“My three freshmen would have been ahead of her,” Cook said.
Sophomore Kaitlynn Williams is the only returning pitcher. She will handle middle relief and is the team’s closer.
“The way she spins the ball, she can throw batters off for a few innings,” Cook said.
Offensively, Jefferson’s lineup is full of pop. In terms of batting average, the Vikings return their top four hitters in sophomores Abby Rollet (.519), Taylor Barnes (.446), Abby Tiemann (.430) and Skylure Barlow (.348).
Barnes (71 stolen bases) and Tiemann accounted for 110 of the Vikings’ 193 total steals.
Northwest graduate Abby McAteer (.329, 34 RBIs in 2018), a sophomore, drove in 10 runs in the Vikings’ first three games.
Barnes didn’t play in the tournament because of a sore knee, but Cook said she should be ready to return by early March.
“Right now, (McAteer) is dialed in,” Cook said. “She is hitting the ball extremely well. She could have hit over .700 but she got robbed of three home runs. Offensively, she was our driving force.”
Eight Vikings on this year’s roster played prep softball in the Gateway Athletic Conference, which includes schools in St. Charles, Warren and Lincoln counties.
“We are always looking for players in that area because it’s loaded with talent,” Cook said. “This year it happens we have eight and who knows how many we’ll have next year? The GAC produces some good players.”
The Vikings have won 43 games in each of the last three seasons, but they haven’t won a Region 16 title since 2015. Going into this season, Cook had a career record of 522-168 in 12 years at the helm.
Last year was the first time Jefferson didn’t win the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference in five seasons. Three Rivers Community College won the title last campaign.
“It tells me we’re pretty consistent,” Cook said of the last three seasons. “Depending on the weather, I would like to think we can surpass that number (43) this year. We’d like to hit 50 wins. If you hit that 50 number, you should be in the World Series.
“Our biggest focus is to get that Region 16 title. Last year we didn’t have the pitching depth. This year I think we do. We have a diverse group who can match up with a lot of clubs. I think this club hits better.”
Freshman Morgan Loggins starts behind the plate. Clark and Bettis will split time at first, depending on who’s pitching. Freshman Hannah Chambliss starts at second and teams with freshman shortstop Alyson Tucker in the middle infield. Barlow returns as the starter at third base. McAteer and Tiemann return to patrol the outfield with sisters Sahaura and Paige Pauley.
Rollet returns as the designated hitter. She tied with Barlow as the Vikings’ leading run producer with 47 RBIs.
“Winning three games in one day says a lot about this club,” Cook said. “We had 30 hits in one day. Everybody in the lineup did their jobs.”