‘There’s going to be a whole lot of changes next year:’ W. Central blanks Caston in sectional opener

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

The Caston softball team finished the season 5-17 following a 10-0 loss in five innings to West Central Monday in a Class 1A, Sectional 50 semifinal. This marked the second straight year that West Central eliminated Caston from the sectional. Ashlyn Bailey, middle row, fourth from left, is the lone senior.

MONON — Caston softball living legends and current college players Addison Zimpleman and Kinzie Mollenkopf were in the dugout for the Lady Comets’ Class 1A, Sectional 50 quarterfinal game against West Central at North White Monday.

Caston coach Jon Burks thought his team slipped from that standard this year

And they did not meet West Central’s standard in a 10-0 loss in five innings.

Zimpleman and Mollenkopf were among a group that set a high standard for Caston softball, which went 81-19 in the previous four years prior to this year. They won three straight conference titles from 2022-24 and won their first ever sectional, regional and semistate titles in 2023.

This year’s edition of the Lady Comets finished 5-17.

Jalie Glasford pitched a four-hit shutout for West Central (15-7). 

Kailee Bishop had three hits with a single and two triples and similar looking deep flies to the right field fence.

Myli Rude had a pair of infield singles for Caston, and Natalie Warner and Mia Mersch also had hits.

Caston got a runner as far as third base only in the fourth inning. Natalie Warner reached first on a dropped throw at first base. Then Kylee Logan reached when the second baseman bobbled her grounder for an error. When the second baseman compounded her error with a wild flip for another error, Warner advanced to third.

Glasford recovered to get Alex Mersch on a pop to third and Ava Russell on a pop to short.

Mersch and Rude had hits in the fifth, but Glasford struck out Abigail Apperson to end the game.

“I can’t figure it out,” Burks said. “They should have hit her all day long. Or at least a lot better than they did. Do you know what I’m saying? They were trying to hit it out clear out there in the damn trees instead of letting it travel and making solid contact. … When you’re standing in the batters box, you’re supposed to time up the pitcher, but you can’t time her up if you’re just standing there talking in the back and not paying attention. There’s going to be a whole lot of changes next year.”

The bigger frustration for Burks might have been the defense. Caston committed only one error, but that one error on Cassidy Lattimore’s sacrifice bunt in the second allowed two runs to score. Lattimore advanced to third on the error and later scored on a wild pitch.

A 3-0 deficit had mushroomed into a 6-0 hole.

That came after a first inning in which West Central hit the ball on the ground six times off Caston starter Hadlie Coffing, but Caston could convert only two of those grounders into outs.

Kyra Leman had an RBI single, and Glasford had a two-run single to give West Central a three-run lead.

“We sucked, bottom line,” Burks said. “That’s what I say. You guys catch me. You want to know the truth? We sucked. I’m over it. They don’t listen. I’m glad the next group is coming in because we’re going to see. I need people who want to play because if not, I’m going to sit their butts down. OK. You’ve got whiners, cryers, pouters and everything, and I don't deal with that well. And I can’t do nothing because I only have nine people. So I got to let it go. I’ve got to suck it up. I could have very easily walked off that field today and been happy with my decision.”

Burks said he will not stand for a culture where players do not listen to coaches. Burks said afterwards that due to Caston’s low numbers – they listed only 12 players on the sectional program – players did not have to worry about losing playing time.

Burks said he is hoping for about 18 players next year from coach Alanie Hipsher’s bountiful middle school program.

“We don’t run balls out,” Burks said. “We don’t listen on bunts. And it’s all year. It’s all year. I might as well just talk to the grass right here. It would do just about as much, and that’s how I’d sum it up.”

Burks was asked what kind of impact Zimpleman and Mollenkopf had.

“Nothing, because they don’t listen to them either,” Burks said.

West Central 10, Caston 0 (5 innings)

West Central 332 11 – 10 9 3

Caston 000 00 – 0 4 1

WP – Jalie Glasford (5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K)

LP – Hadlie Coffing (2 ⅓ IP, 7 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3 K)

3B – Kailee Bishop 2 (WC)