In school sports, a measure of success is whether a team improves its play over the course of a short competitive season.
In terms of the Montezuma Bravettes softball team, it’s hard to look at statistics to compare last year’s 10-17 team with this year’s 13-13 squad.
The stats were similar.
But it’s fair to say this year’s Bravettes were better at the end than they were when they began.
They closed their season with a tournament road win over North Mahaska. Then, they gave a top-rated Martensdale-St. Mary’s team a hard time before yielding, 4-0.
“You are absolutely correct when saying we gave Martensdale all they could handle in round two,” said Bravettes Coach Jeremy Van Zee. “The girls played one heck of a ballgame, but we just couldn’t get that timely hit.’
“We played some real solid softball at times this season, and left some opportunities on the field in a few games as well,” the head coach said.
“This TEAM grew in all aspects of the game all season long,” Van Zee said, using the acronym that stands for: Together Everyone Achieves More.”
“When you have 19 girls that are all playing for each other and the TEAM, you become a threat in all games you play,” Van Zee said.
“We say goodbye to three seniors – Kallie Robison, Abby Pope and Kalynn Wanders – that have been with the program for five years and have given us a solid foundation for the future,” the coach said.
“These TEAM members have nothing to hang their heads about as we look back on the season,” Van Zee said.
“I’m excited for the Bravettes softball program as we continue to build,” he said.
And yes, with just three seniors leaving the program, it’s still a young team.
2023 Bravettes
Won 13, Lost 13
Hitting leaders
Runs – Chloe Snook 19, Izzy Roorda 19
Hits – Snook 32
Doubles – Ellen Cook 5
Triples – Snook 4
Home runs – None
Runs batted in – Ellen Cook 16, Snook 15
Walks drawn – Madison Van Zee 10, Snook 7.
Sacrifices – Van Zee 5
Hit by pitches – Jadyn Sharer 3
Reached on errors – Van Zee 12
Total bases – Snook 43, Ellen Cook 35
Batting average– Snook .364, Van Zee .329, Ellen Cook .321, Laila Kercheval .294.
On base percentage – Snook .411, Van Zee .411
Slugging percentage – Snook .489, Ellen Cook .432
Base running
Runs – Snook 19, Izzy Roorda 19
Total bases – Snook 43, Ellen Cook 35
Stolen bases – Snook 16-16, Vivian Cook 12-12
Fielding (21 or more games)
Ellen Cook .992, Abby Pope .981, Laila Kercheval .947, Kallie Robison .944, Izzy Roorda .934
Pitching
Kallie Robison 25 games, including 25 starts, 13-12 won-loss record. 139.2 innings pitched. Opponent batting average .241. She allowed 87 runs, 56 of which were earned. Earned run average of 2.81. She walked 22 batters, hit five, and struck out 95.
Leah Urfer 10 games, one start. Won-loss record of 0-1. 21.1 innings pitched. Opponents batted .217. She allowed 16 runs, 10 of them earned. She had an earned run average of 3.28. She walked eight, hit two batters and struck out 17.