Softball: Hilliard Bradley Jaguars’ young roster gets taste of winning

Kevin Moody gathered his Hilliard Bradley softball team after a disappointing home loss to Olentangy on May 12, but the message wasn’t doom and gloom.

The 12th-year coach told his young players to remember the setback and use it as motivation for advancing further in the postseason next spring.

Although the seventh-seeded Jaguars were edged by the 16th-seeded Braves 4-3 in a second-round Division I district tournament contest, they won the program’s first league championship since 2018 despite having only two seniors. Bradley finished 16-6 overall and tied Olentangy Liberty for the OCC-Central Division title at 7-3.

“The kids are aggressive, they are young and they will learn,” Moody said. “There’s nothing but upside for our younger kids from here.”

The two seniors were outfielders Grace Good and Kenna McClelland. McClelland batted .329 and led the Jaguars in home runs (3) and RBI (19).

“The freshmen and sophomores were willing to be taught, willing to listen and willing to learn from Kenna and Grace,” Moody said. “I can’t say enough about those two. Those two helped us a lot and we’ll miss them.

“They were great leaders all year who played with a sense of fun and excitement. I’m hoping the younger kids felt that the whole time and will use that to get better.”

The Jaguars have two talented arms expected to return. Junior Chloe Sayre was 12-4 with a 1.81 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 104 2/3 innings, and sophomore Jillian Meszaros was 4-2 with a 2.52 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings.

Sophomore third baseman Andrea Day led in batting average (.469), runs (25) and on-base percentage (.500) and added 13 RBI. Sophomore catcher Loghan Cromer batted .368 with 16 RBI, 14 runs and a team-leading three triples.

Meszaros batted .365 with one homer, 14 RBI and seven runs, and Sayre hit .284 with one homer and 13 RBI.

Junior first baseman Ashley Beane, junior outfielder Hannah Hashman, sophomore shortstop Taylor Hopkins and freshman second baseman Cora Moine also are expected to return.

“We expect to have both pitchers and our entire infield back as well as Hannah in the outfield,” Moody said. “These kids will know what is going to take place, how you have to grind and how you have to keep your head up and all of that stuff. That learning that they did this year should translate into a focus, relaxed and fun team next year.”

•Darby was young in several positions, including in the circle, where sophomore Mackenzie Bowden saw the bulk of the workload by throwing 134 innings.

The Panthers, seeded 27th in the Division I district tournament, finished 8-16 after falling 7-1 at seventh-seeded Mount Vernon in the second round May 12. But coach Shawn Papp saw growth throughout the season.

“We worked with Mackenzie Bowden on working inside-outside, trying not to give up that meatball in the middle of the plate. Towards the end of the season, she began hitting her spots,” Papp said. “I think a lot of that came down to getting the experience that she hadn’t had.”

Darby expects to return a core group of juniors, including outfielders Kaitlyn Patrick and Alyssa Righter, catcher Sydney Apling and second baseman Candyce Sharrock.

Righter hit three home runs and drove in eight runs in Darby’s 16-6 win in six innings over Franklin Heights on May 10 in the postseason opener. The homers were the only ones she hit this season, and she finished with a .324 batting average, 16 runs scored, 15 RBI and three doubles.

“She’s one of more improved players from last year,” Papp said. “She showed a lot of heart and a willingness to work.”

Patrick led the Panthers with a .403 batting average with 17 runs, 15 RBI, six doubles and three triples.

Apling settled in behind the plate and was solid at the plate, hitting .333 with 16 runs, 15 RBI, three doubles and two homers.

“She started hitting toward the end of the year and started taking more chances trying to pick people off,” Papp said. “She has a strong arm. She was throwing people out at the end of the year. She gained a lot of confidence with the growth we saw throughout the season. She controlled the game behind the plate.”

Sophomores Hailey Hunter (1B) and Amree Anderson (OF) and freshman Molly Goudy (SS) also played key roles.

“The biggest thing in order for the program to grow is that we’ve got to get better at just the knowledge of the game,” Papp said. “Knowing situations (and) baserunning, for sure. We only lose three seniors in Megan DeMain, Kyrin Enneking and Bella Molinaro, but they were very valuable.”

Enneking, a third baseman, hit .333 with 22 RBI, 19 runs, seven doubles and five home runs.

–Michael Rich

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BRADLEY

•Record: 16-6 overall

•OCC-Central standings: Bradley (7-3), Olentangy Liberty (7-3), Upper Arlington (6-4), Dublin Coffman (5-5), Olentangy Orange (5-5), Davidson (0-10)

•Seniors lost: Grace Good and Kenna McClelland

•Key returnees: Ashley Beane, Loghan Cromer, Andrea Day, Hannah Hashman, Taylor Hopkins, Jillian Meszaros and Chloe Sayre

•Postseason: Lost to Olentangy 4-3 in second round of Division I district tournament

DARBY

•Record: 8-16 overall

•OCC-Cardinal standings: Marysville (9-1), Olentangy Berlin (8-2), Olentangy (6-4), Dublin Jerome (4-6), Thomas Worthington (2-8), Darby (1-9)

•Seniors lost: Megan DeMain, Kyrin Enneking and Bella Molinaro

•Key returnees: Amree Anderson, Sydney Apling, Mackenzie Bowden, Mackenzie Davis, Molly Goudy, Kaitlyn Patrick and Alyssa Righter

•Postseason: Def. Franklin Heights 16-6 (6 innings); lost to Mount Vernon 7-1 in second round of Division I district tournament

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Softball: Hilliard Bradley’s young roster gets taste of winning