PARIS, Mo. — Paris reached new heights on the softball diamond last year.
The Coyotes went further than they ever had before, advancing all the way to the Class 1 Final Four and finishing with a 23-8 record.
“It was really exciting,” said Paris senior catcher Emma Ashenfelter. “It was the first for a Paris softball team ever. So that was even better to be part of the first group to go.”
Although Paris fell short of their dreams of a state championship last year, it’s an experience that will not be forgotten.
“It was my top moment of my sports career so far,” said Paris senior center fielder Sophia Crusha. “I’m excited to get the chance to go back there this year. So that means we have to work hard all season and do really good in all of our games.”
Paris has moved up a class this season to Class 2 and finds itself in the same district bracket as defending state champion Highland.
“This year, we got to get through districts and we got to make it back there,” said Paris head coach Collin Huffman. Our goal is to get on top this year. We’re not satisfied with just going to state. We want to come out with that trophy that says number one in state. It’s never happened in Paris before, so that’s what we want.”
The players are just as eager to have another crack at state this year.
“Our main goal is to win conference, go back to state and bring home the state championship,” said Ashenfelter.
The Coyotes are in a good position to make another postseason run as they return all but two starters to this year’s team.
“We did lose two major spots, but I think we have enough talent to fill those spots,” said Ashenfelter.
One of those losses is Emma Ashenfelter’s older sister, Kennedy Ashenfelter, who has been the Coyotes ace in the circle the past two years.
The elder Ashenfelter went 12-4 with a 0.88 ERA and 102 strikeouts last year.
“Kennedy is a tough loss,” said Huffman. “These girls know besides the way Kennedy played, she was able to command the team.”
Paris plans on going with a one-two pitching punch of senior Reese Sutton and junior Ava Crain to fill in for Ashenfelter, with sophomore Emily Conley also finding herself in the mix.
“Kennedy did a lot,” said Sutton, who plays shortstop when not in the circle. “So Ava and me are going to split most of the innings and I think we have big shoes to fill, but at least there’s two people doing it. It’s not just one person having to step up and do it like Kennedy did.”
Sutton has a fastball, changeup, screwball, riseball and curveball in her pitching arsenal.
After catching her older sister for the past couple of years, Ashenfelter is prepared to work with the new-look Paris pitching staff.
“I’ve caught Reese for four years now, so that’s not that big of a change,” said Ashenfelter. “Ava and Emily are newer to me, but they’re both good and handling it well.”
One big benefit Paris pitchers will have is how good the Coyotes are with the glove after posting a .917 fielding percentage last year.
“I trust these girls with all of my heart,” said Paris senior left fielder Knightlee Mitten. “I believe that I can back up all the girls and they can back me up. So it’s something I’m not worried about this year.”
Paris will have to find a new mix in the infield, especially when Sutton is pitching instead of at shortstop as first baseman Alyssa Webb and flex third baseman Raygen Crain graduated.
The Coyotes do bring back second baseman Sylvee Graupman to bring stability to the infield, who had a .922 fielding percentage, .256 average and .423 on-base percentage last year.
“We have some girls with some versatility as well to be able to get into some different positions to help us out,” said Huffman. “Obviously with the amount of girls that we have, we have depth and that’s hard to come by with a school our size.”
Sophia Crusha had a .971 fielding percentage in center field, and will be joined in the grass by Mitten in left field and Crain in right field.
“I’m kind of like the boss out there,” said Crusha of playing center field. “I help my other fielders with balls and call them off. This year we’re going to have a pretty solid outfield.”
Paris also brings back Gretchen Crusha, who batted .364 with a .417 on-base percentage as a designated player last season.
The Coytoes offense returns several other batters who hit over .350 last season, including Sophia Crusha (.500), Ashenfelter (.417), Sutton (.447) and Crain (.352).
Sutton led the team with seven home runs and 38 RBIs last season.
“Our starting lineup hits really well and we have a lot of depth,” said Sutton. “We have a lot of people that can come off the bench and they can hit just as good as some of the people in our starting lineup.”
Turnout is higher for Paris this season, with 22 girls on the roster.
“The summer camps went really well I thought,” said Mitten. “I thought it was nice that we had enough girls for almost three teams. That makes me happy. That means people are seeing what we are doing and they want to become a part of that.”
The Coyotes are off to a 3-0 start this year and have had the Paris community rally around the softball team, with over 100 fans showing up for the jamboree on Aug. 25.
“I’m excited to see what we can do this year and how many people support us again after what we did last year,” said Ashenfelter. “Just ready to hang out with my team again. It feels more like a family.”