According to head coach Steve Harms, resilience defines this year’s Wilsonville softball team.
The Wildcats kicked off 2024 facing a gauntlet of formidable opponents, amassing a mediocre 4-6 record early on.
“Our preseason schedule was pretty tough,” Harms said. “We played a lot of top-10 teams, 6A and 5A, but I like that because it prepares us for the league and then our 5A postseason.”.
Naturally, as Harms intended, Wilsonville has rallied since its rough beginning, going 8-2 while steadily climbing back into the 5A championship race.
With a current overall record of 12-8 and an impressive 8-1 standing in the Northwest Oregon Conference (NWOC), the Wildcats are ranked No. 7 in OSAA’s statewide 5A classification rankings.
Thanks in part to its difficult non-conference schedule, Wilsonville is in position to bring home its fourth-straight NWOC title, and the Wildcats are once again making waves across the 5A softball landscape.
Harms attributes the resurgence to finding momentum and continuous improvement, emphasizing the importance of stringing hits together and solid defensive play.
“Our defense is really good, and in a game like today, the kids do really well figuring out pitching,” Harms said. “One thing we've been working on — and we've gotten better over the season — is stringing hits together. There's lots of really good individual play, but it's getting those consecutive hits together; that's where you win the game.”
In a win over Parkrose on May 1, Wilsonville had no issue stringing hits together as the Wildcats came away with a 16-0, four-inning victory.
During the top of the fourth inning alone, Wilsonville recorded seven hits and 12 runs. Meanwhile, sophomore Paige Hibbard was dominant in the circle for the Wildcats, putting together a complete game shutout while allowing just two hits.
According to Harms, Hibbard and freshman Mia Rucker carry a large burden as the only two pitchers on the Wilsonville roster this spring.
“A significant factor in our success lies in our young pitching talent,” Harms said. “They're doing well, throwing strikes and totally allowing the defense to help them, but then they're getting several strikeouts on their own, too. So it's pretty exciting to see them doing their job in the circle.”
Still, it hasn’t been all domination for the Wildcats in NWOC play. They lost 4-3 on the road against Hood River Valley on April 19, and a 4-3 scare against Centennial on April 30 reminded Wilsonville to take things slowly.
“The seniors — we all just talked about taking this one game at a time,” senior catcher Maddie Holly said. “I think we'd obviously like to get that four-peat for league and make a good run into the playoffs, but we can't do that if we're looking too far ahead, so we're really making sure that we're keeping our energy and intensity up every single game so that we can go out and play well as a team.”
Just one game ahead of Putnam in the NWOC standings, the Wildcats are still locked into a fierce battle for conference supremacy.
“You never know what to expect in this league,” Holly said. “You really have to come out and play your best every single game.”
The Wildcats will be in action again next Tuesday, May 7, as they travel to take on La Salle Prep. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
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