Jackson softball's Kaiden Weisbrod steals 73rd base to take state record

After shattering the school record for stolen bases earlier this season, Jackson softball’s Kaiden Weisbrod officially claimed the Missouri state record for stolen bases in a single season at 73 on Tuesday in a 15-1 win at North County.

Breaking the record of 72 set by Kickapoo’s Taylor Akers last season, Weisbrod had initially broken Jackson’s record with 36 stolen bases on Sept. 15. Eighteen days later, after more than doubling this total, Weisbrod officially cemented her place in the Missouri record books.

“My whole goal is to keep a good, solid program and build it and build it," Jackson coach Shawn Wilding said. "For her to come out here and just put up tremendous numbers to put Jackson on the map in softball with a state record like that, it's just amazing.”

Weisbrod, committed to Southwest Baptist of Bolivar, Missouri, did something that Wilding had previously thought unattainable, breaking the record of 72 set by Akers a season ago that had broken the 22-year-old record of 65 bases.

When Wilding saw the Kickapoo senior's new record last fall, he knew that there was something special about Akers. What he didn’t know was that in just a year’s time, one of his own players would be nabbing that same record.

“[Akers] stole 72 bases,” Wilding said. “When I was voting for her to be All-State, I was like ‘That record is never going to get broke.’ That's a big record, and here [Weisbrod] breaks it tonight in five less games.”

Now a senior, Weisbrod is finally getting her chance to compete at the high school level after two seasons of sparse play due to injury.

With the most games she’d played in a season before this year being just five, she made the most of her senior season with the Indians. Blowing the school record out of the water, Weisbrod just kept swiping bases.

When she’d finally stolen her 73rd base, the dugout erupted in celebration. For a Jackson softball team that just keeps winning, Weisbrod’s season has culminated in a state record still with two games to play before the playoffs begin.

“Kaiden is a blessing, I’ll tell you that,” Wilding said. “In the off-season, we saw her. Her bat looked pretty good, but you know what? Her baserunning, you know, we're looking at it. I was looking at her as a runner – just a runner.

“Her bat has come on. Her on-base percentage is 60%. When she's on, we're on.”