Second at-bat for Delta softball

~ Delta is among the minority of schools that field softball teams in both the fall and spring.

Delta coach Laura Brown said she and her players benefit greatly from playing softball during the spring and fall seasons because without a playoff system in the spring, there is not as much pressure, which enables her to be a more flexible coach.

"We don't have the intense pressure of making it out of districts and making it through sectionals and quarterfinals to get to a final four," Brown said. "The stakes aren't as high. We still want to win ballgames, but we don't have kind of that intense pressure to where Suzy's batting average is .200 so we can't afford to put her in a game. ... The kids who don't see the field and don't play as much, we do have that opportunity to let them get in and see what they can do."

Still, Brown added that it sometimes is difficult to motivate her players to get excited for each game without any playoffs to work toward.

All schools have the option of playing both softball seasons -- fall and spring -- Missouri State High School Activities Association communications director Jason West said.

But Delta is one of the few high schools in the state that does play both. The fall is when MSHSAA hosts its annual state softball tournament. Four hundred eight Missouri high schools play softball in the fall. Only 46 of the 408 (11 percent) play softball in the spring as well.

Delta enters this spring after a decent fall when it earned the top seed in the Class 1 District 1 softball tournament, but lost to Oran in the district title game.

Playing during the less stressful spring season allows Brown to experiment with her players at different positions, insert younger players without as much varsity experience into the lineup, give struggling players a chance to improve and provide more practice time for her team as it prepares for the more intense fall just four months away.

"[The spring] helps us play better as a team and you get to know each other and how each other is going to react to each situation," senior Jodi Menz said.

Delta sophomore Samantha Bartels added: "We just try to practice and get better so we'll be ready to go in the fall."

Advantages

Brown said that when she attended Kelly High School, the softball program participated in both the fall and spring seasons, and Brown played all eight seasons.

She said the spring season acts as sort of a preparation for the following fall season. When Brown pencils into her lineup the lesser experienced players, she is able to observe their capabilities as hitters, fielders and pitchers to best decide how each player would be able to contribute the next fall.

Brown added the underclassmen are able to experience certain game situations, which will better prepare them and take away some of the rookie jitters.

"You put those younger ones in," Brown said, "and all of a sudden they're like, 'Oh my God, what am I supposed to do again? Where am I supposed to be and who's covering?' It gives them real, live scenarios instead of just going over it in practice. And then I think when fall comes around, they've been there and they've done that."

Brown also is able to experiment with players in different positions to try to build the right lineup for the fall.

"I've had a year where our catcher went to center field, our first baseman became our catcher," Brown said.

Brown said that she is not aware of any other softball league available to high school players during the early spring. And no other girls sports exists during the spring at Delta High School, so it's logical to field a team. Plus it provides Brown with more practice time with her players.

"It's like anything else, the more you do it, the better you're going to get at it," she said.

Brown said that because she is preparing the team for the fall -- and observing the lesser experienced players -- she might not use the seniors as much.

"I'm not going to tell them they can't play, but they don't play a lot," Brown said about seniors. "They know if they play in the spring, they're not going to play very much."

Brown added that she never has had a senior that played in the fall that did not go out for the team in the spring.

Bartels said that when she was a freshman last year, then-senior Amanda Drew was the catcher on Delta's fall team. Drew started at catcher the entire fall, but split time behind the plate in the spring because Bartels would be catching in the fall.

"I think it was really good experience for me, especially being younger and catching Kendra [Burnett]," Bartels said. "I think it helps keep us in the mood for fall. Most of us play during the summer, so we all stick with it and do it mostly year round."

'A win is a win'

West said the reason for having two softball seasons is because some smaller schools have such low enrollment that they are unable to field both a softball team and volleyball team during the fall. Having a spring season allows smaller schools, which focus on volleyball in the fall, to offer softball, too.

"My understanding, up until 10, 12 years ago, spring softball was when the majority of teams played," West said. "Then when the state championship was moved to the fall season, [many schools] made the switch then to compete for a championship. But there's still a number of schools that play in the spring only because they don't have the numbers to field both a volleyball and a softball team."

Smaller schools that play in the fall, like Delta, are more likely to participate in the spring than larger schools that are able to offer other spring sports, such as soccer and track and field, to their female students.

There are 103 Class 1 teams, including Delta, that play in the spring and 23 of those teams (22 percent) also play in the spring. Some other Class 1 teams that play both seasons include Naylor, Neelyville, Van Buren, Bakersfield, Sparta and Winona. Twelve of the 23 teams have no other girls spring sports besides softball to offer students.

Twenty percent of the Class 2 fall teams, including East Prairie, play in the spring as well. In the two largest classes, participation in the spring season drops dramatically. Only two of the 102 Class 3 fall teams -- Kennett and Doniphan -- also play in the spring, and none of the 102 fall teams from Class 4 plays in the spring.

Because just 11 percent of the fall teams also participate in the spring, the competition teams face in the spring is not as strong.

"Sometimes it is a little harder to get [the players] excited," Brown said. "But in my opinion -- a win is a win. Does it matter if it's in the fall or the spring?

"I enjoy playing them all ... because you're going to learn something."

Brown said that her team typically faces better pitching in the fall. And players said the games feel more competitive in the fall.

"They know that we love to have fun, we like to experiment moving kids around," Brown said. "They also know ... we're still here to win games -- not to just waste time."

Some Delta players admitted that sometimes they don't feel like they play as hard in the spring because they are not playing for anything but to improve.

"It's better playing for something," said Burnett, who added that while her team might not be as motivated to play as hard during the spring, the season still is helpful because the team continues to practice and she has the opportunity to pitch to different batters.

Some players, however, like not having a playoff during the spring. Menz said it's a nice change of pace after the intense basketball season.

"You can just take it easy and it benefits you, I think, because you can hit better and field better and not have to worry about mistakes," she said.