However, the Wildcats (15-22 overall and 6-11 in conference play) found out early in the season that this year was going to be different. Right out of the gate, the Wildcats struggled to get the clutch hit they needed to keep the big inning alive, or they had trouble getting the third out to finish off the inning defensively. Because of those problems, they lost five of their first seven games and started their conference season just 2-4.
"It just took us too long to get going," said Ali Scherrman, the Wildcats' head coach. "I'm not sure if we really ever got things going, but these girls never gave up. They are such fighters and love to battle. It just wasn't meant to be this year."
For Scherrman, there were two glaring differences from last year. The first thing was hitting. This year, the Wildcats had only four hitters above .300 - Allie Funke .382; Rachel Hoeger .316; Taylor Lubben .306 and Hannah Huber .302. The next highest hitter was at .188.
"It's hard to score runs when you're only getting consistent production from four girls," said Scherrman. "That wasn't the case last year. Up and down the line-up, the girls contributed. "Another difference was leadership. This year, we had eight juniors acting as seniors," said Scherrman. "That was great to see because those girls want to win so bad. However, we lacked that one girl who would step up and really challenge the rest of the team."
Every night the Wildcats took the field, they where challenged by the team in the opposite dugout. There is no doubt they had a target on their back and it showed in the number of one-run games they were in. Because they couldn't come up with the big hit, or close out an inning, the Wildcats were 3-8 in one-run games.
There was one stretch of games were the Wildcats showed a lot of life. With three weeks left in the regular season, the Wildcats won eight of nine games and looked to be getting hot at the right time for a late season run.
But as quickly as it appeared, the Wildcats' spark was extinguished as they lost their last seven games, including a 4-3 heart breaker to the Mount Vernon Mustangs in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs.
"I never felt comfortable that game," said Scherrman. "We were in it the whole way and were very close to winning the game. It was a tough game to lose, but I'm sure the girls learned from it. Hopefully, it will fuel them over the off-season to work hard so they are ready for the start of next season."
Offensive leaders for the Wildcats were: hits - Funke 37, Hoeger and Hannah Huber 35 and Lubben 34; runs - Hoeger 32, Lubben 29 and Sara Gienapp 19; RBIs - Hannah Huber 25, Lubben 21, Funke 20 and Abbie Wooten 15; stolen bases - Hoeger 28, Lubben 18, Jade Hargrafen 16, Melissa Wulfekuhle 15, Gienapp 13 and Funke 11.
Hannah Huber was the ace of the pitching staff going 8-13 with a 2.83 ERA, while striking out 61. Kate Huber worked in 14 games and finished with a 4-7 record and one save. She had an ERA of 2.71 with 17 strikeouts. Hayley Steenhoek gained some valuable experience pitching in 11 games with an ERA of 5.59. She went 3-2 and struck out 19.