The Lady Cougars softball team of Logan County high school wrapped up a wonderful season late May with a loss to Bowling Green in the opening round of the Region 4 tournament. Even though the early part of the season saw the Lady Cougars adjust to their new coaching staff everything came together when it mattered most. Even though they had their struggles early, they put it together and showed the rest of the region what they could do with a convincing 9-2 win over Todd County in the opening round of the district tournament.
“It was a fun fun fun year,” LCHS head coach Michael Crawford said. “We had a lot of good kids. I learned a lot and I think as the year went on we got better everyday, worked harder everyday”
With a end of the season record reading 8-26, the Lady Cougars had a 5-4 record in the last three weeks of the season showing the steady improvement. Their offense exploded at times and was one of the higher scoring offenses at times. With an offense led by Cheyenne Bilicki, Alicia Croft, and Lindsey Ezell the Lady Cougars offense clicked and put on quite a show. Croft from her lead off position collected over 35 RBI’s, Ezell had over 25, and Bilicki tossed in over 15 RBI’s.
“We’re sure going to miss the three that are leaving,” coach Crawford said. “Alicia is our lead off hitter that we’re losing, her and Cheyenne have been very open all year and then being around four and five years I could lean on them and ask some questions. Lindsey was a great addition, she was a good kid, she brought a lot of good things to do the team. I don’t think we win as much without her. They provided a lot of leadership for the team.”
With those three leading the Lady Cougars, Logan County held quite their own against some of the top teams in the region. If their stout defense that had been seen through the later parts of the year was there in the first round of the Region tournament, the Lady Cougars could have easily taken down the heavily favored Lady Purples.
“We started around the first week of May and all the way throughout the last week of the season, we took care of the ball,” coach Crawford said. “We knew what to do when the ball came to us. When we got to the last game, then we make a few errors and that was the difference of the game.”
Even with losing their three senior leaders, the Lady Cougars have a great core of returning players.
“We got a lot of good kids coming back, one of the things we did do this year was build some depth, we can move some people around and still be very successful next year,” coach Crawford said. “They saw this year, about playing hard every play and trying to make things happen every play. I do think they are ready to step up.”
With that improved depth next year the Lady Cougars have their eyes set on snapping Franklin-Simpson’s four year dominant run in the district. With Victoria Cates returning, who was up there with Bilicki, Croft, and Ezell in RBI’s and a steady presence behind the plate she’ll be counted on to help lead the team. Shelby Milam was a constant and reliable force on the mound and will be counted on again next season to provide that steady production again. Madison Abbott, Megan Griggs, and Rebecca Dezarn will be counted on to help fill that offensive void left by the three seniors.
“We still have a lot of work to do, and a lot of things to work on,” coach Crawford said. “I think we had the right attitude, we had a lot of things instilled, it was there just getting it out of there. Get the kids to step up and take charge and play with confidence.”
Now all the Lady Cougars can do is to continue to train and get ready for the next year. After a successful first season under coach Crawford, Logan County will be ready to take that next step and supplant Franklin-Simpson from the top spot in the district.
“Get ready for off season condition in the fall, just get bigger and stronger and have some fun,” coach Crawford said.
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