BOWLING GREEN, Mo.–A slow start to the season, ended with a Class 3 third-place finish for the Bowling Green Lady Cats softball team. This is the “Cinderella Story” of the 2022 Lady Cats softball program.

A Rocky Start to the 2022 Season

At the beginning of the season, Bowling Green had started with a measly 3-6 record in the first nine games of the season. In the first game of the season, the Lady Cats competed in the Troy Leadoff Classic. Bowling Green picked up a quality 1-0 win over Fort Zumwalt South before falling to St. Dominic 10-0. The losses following the opening weekend tournament seemed to stack up quickly as the Lady Cats navigated a line of tough non-conference opponents.

The Turning Point

The Lady Cats then caught fire, rallying off 11 straight wins before falling to Capital City 6-0 in their second game of the Hickman Tournament, putting an end to the streak. Bowling Green finished the regular season winning five of their last seven games. Unfortunately, the Lady Cats were unable to secure the EMO Conference title, as they were defeated once. Their one conference loss came at the hands of EMO Conference Champions, the Elsberry Lady Indians in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel.

The Magical Run Begins

Bowling Green kicked off the Class 3 District 3 Tournament squaring off in the opening round against the Orchard Farm Lady Eagles. They were able to secure the win 2-0 over the Lady Eagles at St. Charles Community College. The next obstacle the Lady Cats had to face was the Mexico Lady Bulldogs, a team they had lost to previously in the season 11-1. Megan Graver tossed a gem, taking a perfect game into the seventh, while also hitting her first career homerun to help push the Lady Cats past the Bulldogs. At last, Bowling Green was set to face off against the number one-seeded Fulton Lady Hornets for the District Championship. Graver tossed another masterpiece of a game and Deters hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh to secure the win for the Lady Cats, 3-1.

Final Four

The girls had found themselves one win away from heading to the Class Three State Tournament. They would have to get through the Father Tolton Lady Trailblazers to make that dream a reality. Graver took the mound again for the Lady Cats. She again tossed another gem, as the Lady Cats shut out the Lady Trailblazers 3-0. Avery Gamm got the scoring started with a solo home run in the third. Graver then helped herself out by smacking a two-run double down the right-field line in the sixth to secure the victory.

11-Inning Heartbreaker

It was finally time for the Missouri Class Three State Softball Tournament and Bowling Green started the tournament off against the Chillicothe Lady Hornets. Graver toed the rubber for the Lady Cats in a crucial game. The score was tied 0-0 at the end of the seventh inning, as both pitchers were immaculate. The score would continue to be scoreless until the Lady Hornets came up to bat in the bottom of the eleventh. The Lady Hornets hit a solo home run over the center field fence to end the Lady Cats bid for a State Championship. Graver tallied 17 strikeouts in the contest.

Class Three Third Place Finish

The job was not done for the Lady Cats as they had to face the Westminster Christian Academy Lady Wildcats for third place. Graver pitched the last game of the season after throwing over 150 pitches in the previous game against Chillicothe. She did not disappoint as she tossed another shutout with 8 strikeouts to claim third place for the Lady Cats. Graver ended the season with 351 strikeouts, a new school record!

Facing off in the championship were Fatima and Chillicothe. Fatima was able to hold off the Lady Hornets, 16-14 in eight innings, to be crowned the class three state champions.

Looking Back on What Could’ve Been

Even though the Lady Cats didn’t win the State Tournament, they had a wonderful season. The season truly was an underdog story for the ages. One swing was the factor that kept the Lady Cats from multiple championships, including the EMO conference title and a potential state title. Bowling Green fell to Elsberry 1-0 in the game that eventually would crown the Lady Indians as the EMO Conference Champions. Bowling Green was on the receiving end of a walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh that day. Another incident was the game against Chillicothe, one swing was the decider. Chillicothe was able to send a ball over the fence in the bottom of the eleventh inning to secure the win. Graver had pitched both games and had been efficient, truly a force to be reckoned with.

Looking Into the Future

The Lady Cats lose two senior starters in Deters and Kaelynn Wommack. Deters had a huge impact in the outfield. She was able to cover the whole portion of the outfield by herself. She was able to throw out any runner with her fantastic arm. Deters was not just an amazing outfielder, she was a force at the plate. She hit two home runs along with one of the highest averages on the team. Wommack was impactful in the field as well. She was making highlight reel plays at shortstop and carried a great bat too. Wommack was notorious for finding gaps in the defense and coming up big when it mattered most.

Head Coach Craig Smith had a few things to say about the future of the Lady Cats softball program. “We have a good core coming back, the juniors have a lot of experience. We have a small sophomore class, and there are only four of them, but all of them had a chance to get into some varsity games this year. We stayed for the state championship game on Saturday, we want to be in that game next year. It’s a possibility if the girls come into the season with an open mind and figure out that they’re going to have to work for what they earn.”