Cosby softball to ‘reload’ after disappointing end to 2024 campaign

Mike Bryant walked out to centerfield and stood by himself Monday night.

All the pieces had come back from the Cosby Lady Eagles’ 2023 state run, and they appeared poised to do it all again.

Except then it was all over, brought to a sudden, startling close in a 4-3 loss to North Greene in the region semifinals.

So as Bryant stood there, he kept wishing to have one more chance — one more shot.

“But of course, there’s not,” he said Thursday. “I’ll be honest, I’m still not over it. It’s a tough reality when you know you’re a good team and have a good group with their desire to play on. That was tough. I would love to have some words of wisdom or some eloquent speech, but all I can say is that it hurt.

“It hurt me and those girls, especially affecting those seniors, and it took some time to understand that that was it. Others were just crushed, and that’s one of the hardest things of this job — to tell them that there’s one team that walks off a winner, and this year, it’s not us. I almost feel like that sounds harsh now, but at the time, I wanted to let them know that there will be others to have this feeling and that others already have.”

Cosby left several runners stranded during the game, but the Lady Eagles also suffered a few tough breaks — such as a two-out bloop single that could have broken the game open had North Greene not made the catch.

“Had they beaten us by seven runs, I would say we couldn’t do anything with them,” said Bryant. “But in that game, when you leave at least five runners on base with less than two outs in scoring position and can’t manufacture runs — which their defense and pitcher had something to do with — it was just one of those games.

“When you’ve got a one-run game, and the teams are matched pretty equally as far as school size and all that, we were not able to take advantage of the mistakes that they made. Then the one or two that we made, they did take advantage of them. That’s it in a nutshell.”

Despite the differences, Bryant noted the pride he felt in his Lady Eagles, even as they gathered around him with tears in their eyes after the loss.

“I truly believe, with everything in me, that those girls gave everything they had,” he said. “Now did they make some mistakes? Yes. I did too. But they gave everything they had. And when you have a group that will do that, you can’t ask for more.”

In that huddle, Bryant reminded his players that he would take that team “and play anybody, anywhere.”

“And I’ll take you over any of them,” he added.

Still, for a select group of players, that statement is part of what made Monday so hard.

Because after the final inning, Cosby was forced to say goodbye to six seniors — Shylee Weeks, Reese Michaels, Kylee Cornwell, Karissa Norris, Ava Krawczyk and Breanna Anthony — who helped lead the team to its first state tournament appearance in two decades last season.

When asked what this class means to him, Bryant said he was not sure he could find the words.

“I hope they know how important they are to me and how important they have been to this program,” he said. “This group, as much as I can tell, is the second-winningest group of seniors ever on The Hill. They have won a lot of ballgames, of course going to the state tournament as juniors.

Norris became known for her speed, as neither she, Krawczyk nor Anthony had played softball before entering high school.

“Ava held down left field for us, learned how to play and learned even more more this year,” Bryant said.

She learned new positions and new techniques, adapting throughout.

Anthony was similar in right field, starting at that position as a senior after not playing as much her sophomore or junior seasons.

“She came in, listened and gleaned everything she could,” said Bryant. “And Karissa — involved in a lot of things because of her speed — has been our courtesy runner since her sophomore year.

“Other teams knew she was going to bunt and still couldn’t throw her out. Every time, she would be doing everything in her power to be safe.”

Weeks, of course, was a two-time All-State player, as she navigated the loss of her father as a freshman before going on to reach those feats as a sophomore and junior.

Then in practice, a sudden preseason injury kept her out until after Spring Break in her final year wearing Cosby blue.

“Having to deal with that as freshman, then being named All-State twice, then having the opportunity to have it happen a third time and breaking your arm — what a hand to he dealt,” said Bryant. “But to come to practice, to swing with her one arm that didn’t hurt, what more can you ask for?”

And even when Weeks did come back, Bryant noted that opposing pitchers would still not give her anything to hit, knowing exactly who they were facing.

And speaking of that, batters likely had the same thought process when stepping into the box to face Lady Eagles ace Reese Michaels.

Over and over, Michaels has been the unflappable, unshakable force for Cosby, not showing any emotion regardless of result.

So when Bryant looked over and saw her becoming emotional on Monday, the reality really set in.

“To watch her walk off that field in tears on Monday, I know how tough and hard she is,” he said. “She’s never let one to let them see her sweat.“

Except this time, with it all over, no one could blame Michaels when she did.

She was one of a couple players who took moments for themselves, as Kylee Cornwell sat in the dugout for a good while after the game ended.

Cornwell had played “all kinds of positions” for Cosby, per Bryant: center field as a freshman; third and short as a sophomore, and second base as a junior and senior, while also pitching some through her career.

“She’s one of the sweetest kids, such a good athlete, and kept getting better,” said Bryant. “I knew it was going to be hard.“

As she sat there, looking and thinking back over her career, Bryant saw something with which he could identify.

After all, he had suffered that same pain himself 35 years prior in a season-ending loss at Washburn.

“I understand that pain, that heartbreak,” he said. “And I’ve coached a lot of wonderful young ladies who helped build this program into what it is.

“And this group, I foresee them going on and doing great things. I hope they got as much joy out of playing this game and being around me as I got out of them.”

Now, the task going forward is simple: reload — not rebuild — for another run next season.

The Lady Eagles will have plenty of weapons coming back, with Chloe Hance, Lakelyn Sweeten, Ella Hicks and Nevaeh Deardorff among them.

“The one thing I did say — and I said it the year before when we went to state too — was to remember this feeling, because it’s not how you want it to end,” Bryant said. “And losing at the state tournament, I was nervous last year. But I said it to them, and I said it to the ones returning: remember how this feels and put the work in so you don’t have to feel this again. That’s all you can do, is put it in and give it your best.”

“There’s no doubt we have big shoes to fill,” he added. “But I’ll tell you something, we’ve got some girls that can play this game and some that are coming in that will be thrown in the fire pretty quick.

“But the ones we’ve got returning, I think we can contend again and be right back. There is no rebuilding; you better reload. That is the expectation on The Hill.”