And so now we know the secret to Polk County’s softball success this season – good soup.
No, not the literal, warm-bowl-on-a-chilly-day type, but rather the kind where many things go into the pot to produce an outstanding blend at the end of the process.
“I felt like we had a lot of talent, but this team was like soup,” said head coach Jeff Wilson. “Everybody brought different ingredients, but at the end it makes for a good soup.
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“We had girls who could hit, pitch, play good defense, slappers, runners. You mix all that together, it’s a pretty good soup.”
Good enough for a 20-5 season and a second-round 2A state playoff appearance in a year that Wilson expected to be the first step of a two-year building process. With just two seniors on the roster and a freshman on the mound, Wilson planned on being a factor in the Western Highlands Conference and hoped for a playoff trip, but knew 2015 might be the better season for those expectations.
Instead, the Wolverines rolled to the program’s second 20-win season in the past eight years, tying Mountain Heritage for second place in the WHC and putting together a pair of impressive winning streaks.
“Once we started rolling, we had a seven-game winning streak and a 10-game winning streak,” Wilson said. “It took good teams to beat us all year long.
“I’m very satisfied with the season. I felt like the record was (representative) with our talent level.”
Powering the Wolverine offense throughout the season was sophomore Hayley Kropp, who hit .500 for the season and set two school records with 44 hits and a 17-game hitting streak. Junior Ashley Kropp hit .405 with 30 hits, followed by freshman Ashley Scruggs at .338, senior Brittany Jones at .330 and junior Kassidy Reynolds at .312. Juniors Alexis McCraw (.295) and Maddy Foy (.288) narrowly missed the .300 club for an offense that relied on timely hitting plus solid bunting and base running.
“It wasn’t like we could just show up and blow people out,” Wilson said. “It was tough all year. But I kind of liked that.”
One other trait marked the Wolverines in 2014 – the ability to not lose sight of the big picture, to stay locked in on the task at hand. Wilson pointed to the team’s 18-0 win at Avery, where leading 15-0 the players’ primary focus was getting the 16th run, as indicative of that tendency.
“A key for us was our focus,” Wilson said. “They all focused on the small things.
“(The Avery game) was a good lessor. We saw Heritage come back from 9-4 and beat us 10-9. We learned that you never miss an opportunity to keep applying pressure.”
Having a reliable presence in the circle made applying pressure easier throughout the season. Scruggs pitched in all 25 games this season for Polk County, her 20 wins just one shy of the school record and the most for any Wolverine freshman. Scruggs finished with a 1.37 earned run average, striking out 172 and walking 35 in 152 2/3 innings. Scruggs also tied a school offensive record with a four-hit game.
“To be a 20-game winner as a freshman you have to be really mentally tough,” Wilson said. “She’s paid the price to get to this point. She’s spent a lot of Saturdays getting up at 7 a.m. to go play softball somewhere.”
Jones and Janada Carson will be the only Wolverines not returning next season.
“Brittany Jones will go up on our wall of fame, and everybody loves Janada,” Wilson said. “They’re both great girls and gave us everything they had. They were also good teammates. The girls loved them.
“I also have to thank my assistant coaches. I’ve got a hard-working staff. On any given day I may have four or five people helping with coaching. It’s a good staff who cares about the girls. And Pat McCool served as the spring athletic director and helped out a lot.”
With eight returning starters plus some key reserves, as well as some talented rising freshmen coming from Polk County Middle School, Wilson has high hopes for next season.
“I’m very excited about next year,” Wilson said. “I’m looking forward to trying to pursue some championships.”
