Bernie SB clicking offensively and defensively as postseason nears

You can study the history of Bernie High School softball and what you’ll find are two things: The Mules will win games and they’ll do it by producing offensively, and this spring has been no different.

Bernie (14-9-1) is cruising as it nears the postseason next week, and the Mules’ offense is a key part of that.

“We’re taking some pretty good at-bats,” veteran Bernie coach Brad Botsch said of his team earlier this season. “We’ve got some girls who have really worked on their swings.”

The Mules will visit Meadow Heights (5-9) today at 4:30 p.m. before visiting a strong New Madrid County Central team (11-7) on Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Bernie has won five consecutive games and totaled a combined 63 runs in those games.

Throughout the season, the Mules are averaging just under 10 runs per game, but it hasn’t always been just by crushing opposing pitches.

“We’re able to manufacture some runs,” Botch said.

That was evident in the recent Swing Pink Tournament at East Park in Dexter last weekend.

The Mules had 10 hits in an 11-8 win over Greenville, and seven in an 8-0 shutout against East Prairie. However, Bernie had to figure out a different way to get past Van Buren, as Bulldog pitchers Katelyn Warner and Elli Lewis held it to just four hits.

Bernie sophomore Mikalyn Kirkwood belted a triple in the 6-3 Mule win while senior Elicia Freeman connected for a pair of hits to pace her team. However, Botsch got stolen bases out of Abby Powell, Blair Pleimling, Kalli Mason, Kealea Powell, and Rylie Powell to generate some pressure on Van Buren, which outhit Bernie seven to four but committed six errors.

“We try to get a feel for whether we are taking good at-bats,” Botsch said. “If we’re not, then we try to figure out another way to manufacture runs if we have to.”

The Mules ran rampant in a 20-0 beating of Delta on Monday, as they stole 16 bases and connected for nine hits, including three from Kirkwood.

Bernie is also faring well defensively.

The Mules have allowed its opposition to score just over five runs per game, which is the fewest in five seasons.

A pair of wins this week will match the 16 victories that Bernie achieved in 2022, and Botsch’s team still has at least three games remaining after these upcoming two games.

Bernie has not won an MSHSAA Class 1 District 3 title since the 23-win team in 2019.