Softball Preview: Sikeston Lady Bulldogs

SIKESTON -- Though he'll have to replace many of last year's biggest contributors, new Sikeston Lady Bulldogs head coach Eric Voorhees is setting the bar high for his first year with the program.

Blessed with a talented, but young squad, Voorhees' plans on putting the Lady Bulldogs softball team on the same level as the other storied Sikeston sports programs.

"I said it in my job interview and I don't care who hears it, I want to win a district championship for the first time in this school's history," Voorhees said. "There's a lot of sports in that Field House that has banners and softball isn't one of them."

Voorhees takes over for longtime Lady Bulldog head coach Tiffany Morgan, who announced her retirement from coaching after Sikeston's 10-3 loss to Farmington in the Class 4, District 1 semifinals a season ago.

The loss left the Lady Bulldogs with an 11-10 record last season and marked the end of careers for such lineup staples as Madison Chaney, Sydney King, Sarah Dixon and Bayleah James.

This year's lineup will feature only one senior, shortstop Annie Ramey, but Voorhees stressed that doesn't mean his team's short on leadership.

"We have a lot of younger girls who are leaders on this team," Voorhees said. "When you look at Madison Smith and Maggie Shepherd, those girls there have been playing ball so much that, to me, they are leaders.

"Just because they're not a senior by title could be misleading to a lot of people. I think they're really good players and that will show through this season."

Shepherd comes back as the Lady Bulldogs' leading hitter with a batting average over .350 last season while Hannah Placek and Ramey each hovered around the .300 mark.

They'll likely be pushed up the lineup as the Lady Bulldogs look to replace four of their top five hitters in the order.

"We have a bunch of underclassmen that are here and want to take those spots," Shepherd said. "We'll fill those positions the best we can. I just want us to improve as a team over the season and try to win as many games as we can."

Ramey added, "I'm pretty confident in our lineup. We have strong underclassmen and that's all we have to worry about."

Besides contributing at the plate, Ramey will be the only senior voice on the field and will anchor a defense that will be putting new players in several key positions, including catcher. Ramey has been a fixture at shortstop the past few seasons and that's something Voorhees says won't change.

"I tell anybody that talks to me that she's one of the best I've ever seen in the area," Voorhees said of Ramey. "Her defensive prowess is unbelievable. Her abilities to motivate others is second to none. I wouldn't want anybody else (in that spot)."

King and Dixon's power will certainly be missed at the heart of the order, but perhaps the biggest loss to Sikeston's lineup comes with the graduation of leadoff hitter Madison Chaney.

A stalwart at the top of the order the past four years, Chaney hit for a .485 average and a .562 on-base-percentage her senior season while setting the table for the rest of Sikeston's hitters.

Voorhees is optimistic he's found a more than serviceable replacement for Chaney's spot in Mikah Martin, who was forced to sit out all of last year after suffering a concussion.

"She's fast, can bunt and gets on base about as many ways as you can possibly imagine," Voorhees said of Martin. "She's going to be our leadoff hitter and she has a quickness about her that you can't teach.

"I like where her heads at. She's a centerfielder and has a good head on her shoulders, a good arm and is an all-around good player."

On the mound, Madison Smith comes back as the ace of the staff and is looking to improve on a solid sophomore season where she shared pitching duties with Paige Sailors.

"She had a slightly above 3.00 ERA last year," Voorhees said. "She features three or four real good pitches. She pitched for us all summer in the summer league and has done a couple travel things.

"Madison does everything possible to make sure she's prepared. I look for her to have a really good, breakout season this year. I trust every time I put No. 4 out there that she's going to do real well."

For her part, Smith is ready for the challenge.

"I've been working hard over the winter," she said. "I've got it together, I think. I feel pretty confident. Our underclassman are working really hard. It looks like we're going to have a good team this year."

Sikeston hosts Poplar Bluff Aug. 29 for their first game at the Sikeston Sports Complex at 4 p.m.