Over the last four years, North Callaway softball has gone through peaks and valleys.

North Callaway vs Mark Twain Photo Gallery

The Ladybirds went through some on Tuesday night against Eastern Missouri Conference foe Mark Twain before winning 13-6 on Senior Night, furthering a season they hope will continue peaking. For the first time since the most recent district championship team in 2017, North Callaway has won 20 games.

North Callaway (20-11, 7-2 EMO) had RBI coming from six different sources, including four from Megan Schmidt and three from Kendra Pennell, but everybody contributed in some way offensively and defensively. Seniors Faith Cash, Abigail Schmidt, Lia Bondurant and Lauren Speight were included in this effort. Mark Twain (15-14, 3-6 EMO) didn’t make it easy in a game that saw three ties before the Ladybirds took control with a seven-run fifth inning.

“Oh, it made me nervous,” Abigail Schmidt said with a laugh. “I’m not going to lie. I was sweating, but I believed in everyone and we came back.”

“I knew we weren’t just going to roll over,” Bondurant said.

“We’ve done a lot better about that this year,” Cash said. “A lot of picking each other up and keep pushing. It’s been way better this year.”

Speight pitched seven innings with seven hits, five strikeouts and two earned runs. After some early defensive lapses by both teams, the game became more stable and Speight became more stingy in the circle.

“My defense improved as well,” Speight said with a grin. “I just throw the ball and whatever happens, happens.”

After Mark Twain tied the game at 6 in the fifth inning, Mark Twain cycled through three pitchers as North Callaway brought home three runs via free passes, whether it be a walk or hit by pitch. Megan Schmidt, Kymorie Myers and Ella Slater each had RBI hits. Head coach Mariah McKee complimented Slater earlier in the inning for a “great” backdoor slide to wrap herself “perfectly around” third base, beating the second forceout attempt on her.

That set up North Callaway for its seven runs to demonstrate it did make adjustments at the plate. McKee said Mark Twain’s pitching was different from the pitching it had faced the previous day against first-ranked Centralia and over the weekend at the Centralia tournament.

“We’ve been facing some really hard pitching the last week,” McKee said. “Adjusting to a different speed, it takes a hot minute. We got in there and got adjusted, and we started sitting back and really driving the ball.”

McKee said the result the Ladybirds eventually arrived at wasn’t too shocking considering how well they support each other. Mistakes were made, but McKee said they had each other’s backs.

Communication is key for the offense, McKee said, as the girls go down the line and discuss the pitching with the next person. Wanting to help each other out is natural for a family like North Callaway softball.

“North Callaway softball is really like a family,” Schmidt said. “I’ve never felt left out of anything. I always came to school and saw somebody I knew and helped me really enjoy softball.”

“It was always a very positive experience,” Cash said. “I’ve never stepped on the field and wasn’t happy to be around the girls and the team. It was always bad day, good day and always having smiles on everyone’s faces.”

This has been especially true this season as North Callaway has continued its upward trend. When the four seniors were freshmen four years ago, the Ladybirds finished the season 5-14. They have improved every year at 5-14, then 9-17, 17-16 and finally 20-11 after Tuesday’s win for an already memorable senior year.

“Every year that we played, we got more wins so we definitely improved,” Speight said. “We added more games too. The more games, the more wins.”

The more games the Ladybirds played, the more live situations and different pitchers they faced and the better they became, Cash and Schmidt said. 

“This is probably my favorite year,” Bondurant said. “You just get to see your friends every day. It’s a long season so it’s hard to get through that, but it is better if you’re with everybody you like.”

McKee said Speight has shown an ability to pitch through all kinds of situations, whether they be positive or negative. She said Speight embodies the spirit of this team of continuing to the next play and trusting her teammates as a contact pitcher.

“That’s what Lauren does,” McKee said. “Lauren will pitch through anything we ask her to pitch through. She’s going to do what she needs to do. She has great composure on the mound, and that’s something that I will miss. I can always count on her. She’s going to give me everything she has every single pitch.”

McKee said her seniors gave everything and more to the program. Other than giving great effort in practice and in games, she said they have coached in North Callaway’s little league during the previous three summers to develop interest and skills among future Ladybirds. No matter how this season ends, McKee said it’s difficult to express how proud she is of them.

“You’re leaving your legacy behind,” McKee said. “I am very thankful for their time and their effort in everything they give to this program because we wouldn’t be where we’re at today if it wasn’t for them. To see where we started and where we ended, it’s a great full circle. I don’t think they can understand how proud of them I am.”

After what the seniors have experienced all four years, of course they would help the program however they can. They all said their time has been valuable and wants others in the future to feel the same way.

“It’s a lot of fun, and we’re very loud,” Speight said with a grin. “We get along for the most part. Being together all the time hasn’t been too bad.”

“We’re a pretty big part (of the team) now,” Bondurant said. “When we were freshmen, there would be little spots where we’d go in. Now we’re rolling.”

“It was definitely cool to see because, in freshman year when we came up, we weren’t winning very many games, but we had the potential,” Cash said. “In junior and then senior year, you can definitely see everyone grow and the pieces that came up throughout the years.”

“We were very young our freshman year,” Schmidt said. “We had a lot of people playing up on varsity with the older people. We just grew together, and now we’re one happy family and are just clicking.”

North Callaway plays its regular season finale at 5 p.m. today at conference foe Bowling Green (10-11, 6-3 EMO).