Panthers Softball Team Looks to Pivotal Week

Park Hill South at 10-9 is in the middle of a tough stretch of games this week which include matchups against Truman, Park Hill, Kearney, and Oak Park. With the district tournament next week, these last games will determine a conference champion and help build momentum going into the postseason. After early conference losses to Truman and Oak Park, Coach Josh Walker didn’t think the conference title would be very attainable, but after a stretch of wins, they’ve made their way back into the conference race. Rematches with Truman, Park Hill, and Oak Park, all conference rivals, will go a long way in deciding this year’s champion.
To start off the season the Panthers’ strength was in their defense, but lately their bats have come alive in a string of games where they have double digit run totals. Pitcher Jessica McCoy has done her part by putting together solid performances all year and has an earned run average just below two.

On the defensive side, Val Pollan has been impressive in leftfield along with third baseman Alyssa Weatherly and Mallory Land who has stepped in as a freshman at catcher to replace Maci Fisher who went down with a PCL injury. Weatherly has also been tearing it up on offense behind outfielder Bailey Peterson, who leads off for the Panthers.

“I hate to use a clique, but it’s going to come down to pitching and defense,” Walker said.
The district tournament starts up next Wednesday, October 7th with the championship game being played on Saturday morning. Park Hill South will be looking to put together the strong defense from the beginning of the year with the solid hitting performances they’ve had of late to make a run at both the conference and district titles. As Coach Walker mentioned at the beginning of the year, and still holds true today with pivotal games fast approaching, “we’re looking to make some noise.”