It has been a very busy past few weeks as the spring sports season has been rapidly winding down which means I haven’t had a lot of time to get into the research, so this is a more personal column than normal.
Personally it has been a great spring as the Southmont softball team has advanced all the way to today’s Forest Park Semi-State against the defending state champion Tecumseh.
No matter what happens, it’s been a stellar season for the Mounties. This is a team which lost five starters from a year ago and not many people thought they would have a chance to do much. It was supposed to be a “rebuilding” season. The only problem is someone forgot to tell this group that they were in a rebuilding season.
From the very early stages of the season when they stunned veteran Danville team to win their own tournament, to the three tight sectional wins, to the first regional title since 2014, this team just keeps winning.
And the Mounties have found numerous ways to win. Early in the season their offense was clicking and they just piled up the runs. Then in the second half of the season the schedule toughened as the team saw outstanding pitching for nine games in a row and got great pitching itself and just found ways to win.
The Mounties had their 10 game winning streak snapped in a thrilling 13-inning loss to North Putnam and then lost the next game to the Cougars as well. Then a third loss in a row, this one a 1-0 loss to Tri-West.
The Mounties could have crumbled but ended the regular season with a rare sweep over Western Boone (who is also playing in the semistate today). Then came the sectional. A 1-0 thriller over North Putnam to avenge the two losses a few weeks before. Then a 5-1 win over Greencastle, a game which was won in the last at bat. Finally, a three run top of the seventh to secure a 3-1 win over South Putnam gave the Mounties the title.
In the regional, the Mounties got off to a 4-0 lead which then was whittled to a 4-3 lead but a big three-run sixth inning led to a 7-4 win.
That brings us to today. No matter what happens this team put itself in the hierarchy of Southmont softball. It’s a team mad
It has been a busy past few weeks as the spring sports season has been rapidly winding down which means I haven’t had a lot of time to get into the research, so this is a more personal column than normal.
Personally, it has been a great spring as the Southmont softball team has advanced to the Forest Park Semi-State where they will face defending state champion Tecumseh.
No matter what happens today, it’s been a stellar season for the Mounties. This is a team which lost five starters a year ago and not many people thought they would have a chance to do much. It was supposed to be a “rebuilding” season. The only problem is someone forgot to tell this group that they were in a rebuilding season.
From the early stages of the season when they stunned the veteran Danville team to win their own tournament, to the three tight sectional wins, to the first regional title since 2014, this team just keeps winning.
And the Mounties have found numerous ways to win. Early in the season their offense was clicking, and they just piled up the runs. Then in the second half of the season the schedule toughened, and the team saw outstanding pitching for nine consecutive games. They also had great pitching and just found ways to win.
The Mounties had their 10-game winning streak snapped in a thrilling 13-inning loss to North Putnam and then they lost the next game to the Cougars as well. Then there was a third consecutive loss, this time to Tri-West with a 1-0. Score.
The Mounties could have crumbled but ended the regular season with a rare sweep over Western Boone (who also is playing in the semi-state today). Then came the sectional. A 1-0 thriller over North Putnam to avenge the two losses a few weeks before. Then a 5-1 win over Greencastle, a game which was won in the last at bat. Finally, a three-run top of the seventh to secure a 3-1 win over South Putnam gave the Mounties the sectional title.
In the regional, the Mounties got off to a 4-0 lead which then was whittled to a 4-3 lead but a big three-run sixth inning led to a 7-4 win.
That brings us to today. No matter what happens this team put itself in the hierarchy of Southmont softball. It’s a team made up of 16 unselfish players. They don’t really seem to care who gets the big hit or who makes the big play. Throughout the season everyone on the roster has stepped up and lifted the team to a win.
From a coach’s point of view, it’s been fun to coach, and we hope we have one more week left. This team will remember this season for many years to come.
In many ways this team reminds me and head coach Dan Taylor of the baseball team we played on 47 years ago which won the school’s first baseball sectional. Hopefully, this team will stay as close as the members of that team have over the years. How close have we stayed with our former teammates? I think we have heard from five or six of them wishing us luck.
No matter what, it’s been a season to remember and here’s to hoping we have one more week left in the season.
e up of 16 unselfish players. They don’t really seem to care who gets the big hit or makes the big play. Throughout the season everyone on the roster has stepped up and lifted the team to a win.
From a coach’s point of view it’s been fun to coach and we are hoping we have one more week left. This team will remember this season for many years to come.
In many ways this team reminds me and head coach Dan Taylor of the baseball team we played on 47 years ago which won the school’s first baseball sectional. Hopefully, this team will stay as close as the members of that team have over the years. How close have we stayed with our former teammates? I think we have heard from five or six of them wishing us luck.
No matter what, it’s been a season to remember and here’s to hoping we have one more week left in the season.
Barry Lewis has been involved in Montgomery County sports for nearly 50 years. He has a passion for keeping its rich history and tradition alive.
