Great Bend Post Sports
The Lady Panther softball team opens the season Saturday against Pratt at the Great Bend Sports Complex. After going 11-11 last year, Great Bend loses a few seniors, including Analiz Rivas. But most of last year’s squad returns to give coach Carrie Minton high expectations for 2024.
“It's fantastic going into the season knowing we have so much experience coming back from last year,” she said. “We lose Analiz, who played a big role for four years on our team, but we have three seniors who are going into their fourth year. We have a large group of sophomores that played quite a bit as freshmen. Then we throw the mix a couple of freshmen into what we already have. We're really excited.”
Senior Paige Thexton is one of those big returners. Playing at short and pitching last season, she batted .443 and reached base more than half the time. She drove in 18 runs and scored 22 more. In the circle, she threw 48 innings and struck out 43.
Senior Halle Post finished with 26 hits and 16 runs last season after batting .371. Senior Rylee Prilling returns at first base after batting .324.
The Lady Panthers had some young power in the lineup last season. Junior DeShawnna Bryant returns to the outfield after leading the team with a .482 batting average with eight doubles, 30 RBIs, 20 runs, and five stolen bases. Sophomore Katherine Mazouch, another outfield, made an immediate impact as a freshman with a .364 average, 21 RBIs, and 16 runs scored.
Also returning in the circle this year are sophomores Alyssa McCauley and Braelyn Turner. Turner struck out 40 in her 36 innings of work. McCauley batted .305 and struck out 21 in her 15 innings pitched.
Other key returners include sophomore Denver Ringo, who batted .314 with 15 runs, sophomore Ava Kaiser with her .305 average, and sophomore Kamryn Koelsch behind the dish with 13 hits and 11 runs scored last spring.
Junior Ava Carter and sophomore Josie Blevins add some depth behind the plate, freshman Chayla Prendergast could see time in the circle, and freshmen Camdyn Post and Kya Behr could make an impact after picking up big varsity time in other sports.
“It makes practices awesome because we have a lot of people challenging each other for playing time,” Minton said. “The good side of that is the girls know it’s a challenge. All of them are stepping up, working to make themselves better, and working to make their teammates better.”