Young Panthers show promise on diamond
Lily McCormick, no. 13, and teammates during a recent non-conference game. The Panthers won six of eight games in the preseason. McKay is at Central on Friday. Game starts at 4:30 p.m. Photo by Lance Masterson
Last season, when the Panthers varsity softball team won eight games, they struggled to win the close ones. That’s not the case so far in 2024.
Central posted a 6-2 mark this preseason. Four of those wins were by two runs or less. Not a bad percentage for a team with only two seniors, Brielle Lowery and Matilda Miller, on its roster.
Conversely, seven players are either sophomores or freshmen. Though the sophomore core is experienced, as five played varsity last year as freshmen.
Lily McCormick is the team’s top pitcher. She won six straight to start the season, and is one of two juniors in the lineup.
McCormick “is pitching really well for us. Ball control is good. Has a lot of confidence. Feels comfortable with the team behind her,” Panthers coach Wes Seidel said.
The team showed it may have turned a corner by squeezing out wins during the recent North Medford Spring Break Tournament. There, the girls defeated Thurston (9-8), Redmond (4-3) and Yreka (5-3) of California. That’s three wins by a combined four runs.
“We proved that we can win close ball games. That’s a place where we struggled last year. We’d get down on ourselves. We’d lose momentum,” Seidel said. “But we managed to walk out of Medford with three of those kinds of wins. We left with more confidence in our ability to compete when it is close.”
McCormick added the Panthers are headed in the right direction.
“I think we’ve started off stronger,” McCormick said of this season’s start. “I think the way we’re going, we’re going to get even better as a team.”
Central's only loss at the tournament came against Eagle Point (8-0). The team’s other non-conference loss was 18 to 1 against Glencoe. Seidel cites lack of pitching depth for the disparity, something the team continues to address as the season progresses.
A reminder as to just how tough life in the Mid-Willamette Conference (MWC) is comes courtesy of the latest Class 5A power rankings. Six of Oregon’s 12 top-ranked teams are in-conference. Defending state champion Dallas is number one, followed by Silverton (2), West Albany (3), Lebanon (6), Central (10) and Corvallis (12).
“That’s an unusual spot for us,” Seidel said of their ranking. "But it feels good to be in that spot, to watch our girls compete, to feel like they can get out there and play with anybody.”
But there's "anybody" and then there's the upper tier of the MWC. Dallas and Lebanon played in the state title game last year, Seidel added, and Silverton, West Albany and Corvallis also made the playoffs.
Even so, at least one Panther is confident about her team's chances.
“I think we can compete very well against these teams,” said sophomore shortstop Sophia Beasly.
We'll soon find out if the girls can maintain their fast start. The schedule makers didn’t do them any favors, as the Panthers opened with Lebanon (a 15-0 loss on Friday), hosts Silverton today, travels to West Albany Friday, and then hosts Corvallis Monday. The two home games start at 4:30 p.m.
“We have a tough first four games,” Seidel said . “I want to see us compete. It’s something we’ve been working on the last two years. We may not come out on the right side of the score. But I just want us to play a complete ballgame."
The gauntlet will help determine whether the Panthers are indeed contenders.
"If we can make it through the first part of the league and still feel like we’re in contention, we’re going to feel really good about ourselves,” Seidel said.
He added for Central to have any shot at the state playoffs they will have to finish conference play no lower than fifth place, but even then they'll advance only if their RPI rating is high enough for them to sneak in as a 15th or 16th seed.
“We’ve set a goal of making it to the playoffs this year. We really want to get there,” said Beasly. I think we’ll make it because we’re all, like, strong-willed."
Publisher’s note: The team’s early league schedule proved just as daunting as expected. The girls have dropped five straight as of Tuesday. Though four of those losses came against powerhouses Lebanon, Silverton, West Albany and Corvallis.
