Jeff Wilson knew entering the 2015 season that he had the pieces on hand to make a run at a Western Highlands Conference softball title.
The veteran coach just needed them to fall into place.
And, boy, did they.
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Polk County wrapped up the WHC regular-season title Tuesday with an 18-1 win at Hendersonville, the victory giving the Wolverines a 11-1 league record and a one-game final margin over Madison.
Autumn Owen had three hits and a homer and Hayley Kropp had two hits and a homer to lead Polk County (19-3, 11-1), which opened an early 11-1 lead and quickly removed any drama from the game.
The league title is the first for Polk County since 2012, when the Wolverines shared the crown with Madison.
“It’s really good ” said Polk head coach Jeff Wilson. “In 2012 we beat Madison, but then lost to Mountain Heritage and wound up as co-champions. It was a very frustrating way to finish.
“This is really big considering Madison had eight starters back and had been on a 50-5 run. This is big for us.”
Four seniors – Maddy Foy, Ashley Kropp, Alexis McCraw and Kassidy Reynolds – have helped provide leadership this season to a lineup that includes three freshmen in Owen, Maranda Gosnell and Haley Fowler. Those three have been part of the starting lineup since early in the season and provided a season-long boost to Polk County’s offense.
“The lifeblood of three really good freshmen has been pumped into the team,” Wilson said. “We’ve gotten quiet leadership from our seniors. They’re a special group who has come in and worked hard and cared about what is going on on a daily basis. They’ve played with a lot of maturity.”
As has sophomore starting pitcher Ashley Scruggs, who has started every game this season in following up a solid debut season with another.
“Scruggs has been very level-headed for us,” Wilson said. “She has been very much a behind-the-scenes calmness, and that has been a big thing for us.”
Gosnell and Foy each had two hits Tuesday for Polk, which may play once more before the start of the state 2A playoffs next week.
