Wildcats find the Northern Buckeye’s best hard to beat

Woodmore softball coach Scott Smith says that Lake, Otsego, Elmwood and Eastwood have made winning in the Northern Buckeye Conference a challenge. 

Otsego pitcher Lexi North has humbled every team’s hitters and the Knights are a perfect 13-0 in league play. Before the season began, Smith knew that Otsego, Elmwood and Lake were going to be good, but said it was “anybody’s guess” where his team would finish up. Now he knows.

“The NBC is always strong from top to bottom. There are some really good coaches in our league and they have their teams ready to play,” Smith said.

The Wildcats are 9-17 overall and 4-9 in the NBC with one league game remaining against Genoa in the NBC, but that does not mean there are not Woodmore players making plenty of noise around the league.

“I was anxious to see who would step up and be major contributors to the team. With only one varsity player returning there were plenty of opportunities,” Smith said. “My team strengths are having coachable girls who want to get better every day. They work hard in practice and want to be competitive. Weaknesses are definitely lack of varsity experience. The more games we played, the better we got, and our goal was to be playing our best softball around tournament time.”

However, the Wildcats got a tough draw, facing Liberty Center in the tournament opener, and the Tigers quickly put to rest any hopes of a Woodmore tourney run with a 10-0 rout.

Woodmore’s top hitter this year is junior Sophie Blausey, who is batting .473 with 44 hits, eight doubles, two triples, three home runs and 26 RBIs. Smith says she is “an excellent contact hitter with power.” Blausey is also the team’s ace, going 9-15 in the circle with 115 strikeouts.

“Sophie is a great competitor with a great attitude. She is one of our team captains,” Smith said. “Sophie pitches every game. She got better and better as the season went on and she gained more experience.”

Senior first baseman Brooke Allen is his second best hitter with a batting average of .425. She is a four-year letter winner and also a team captain. In 2019 as an honorable mention All-NBC selectee, she batted .433 with four home runs, eight doubles and 29 RBIs.

Allen, who owns the single season home run record with five her freshman year, has two more home runs this year which gives her a career total of 11, also a school record. A career all-league first baseman, she found herself playing mostly shortstop this year.

“Brooke Allen moved to shortstop after starting at first base her freshman and sophomore year. Her leadership at short was valuable for our inexperienced players,” Smith said.

Smith says junior left fielder Karys Becerra is having a “solid year,” batting .375. 

“Karys Becerra has lots of power. When she finds the barrel, she is a tough out,” Smith said.

Other players who have contributed are senior second baseman Olivia Thatcher, junior third baseman Sidney Wank, junior catcher and team co-captain Annie Wellons, senior right fielder Sierra Cantley, junior center fielder Liv Rowe and freshman shortstop Cameran Quisno.

“Liv Rowe is just a good all-around hitter,” Smith said.

Smith hopes that Allen, who will play NCAA Division III college basketball at Ohio Northern University next year, got something out of her final season on the diamond, and so did his returning underclassmen.

“We have had a tough season,” Smith said. “We only had one returning varsity player (Allen) to start the season. The girls work hard and are very coachable with great attitudes. We just have trouble putting seven innings together. If we can do that for a game, we can compete with anyone.  

“We have 25 girls in our program and our JV team has won five games.  I feel like the experience we are getting this year will pay off next year,” Smith continued.  

Smith says there are a number of other unsung heroes who have contributed or can contribute in the future, including Abby Lawrence, Emma Tucker, Mireya Pack and Lilly Strong.

This is Smith’s fourth season coaching at Woodmore with an all-time record of 34-43, including 13-13 overall and 5-9 in the NBC in 2019. He coached baseball for 10 years at Woodmore (1999-2009) with a career record of 137-134, qualifying for the regional tournament three times.