The 2023 high school girls’ softball season has just gotten underway, and the Lady Bulldogs are off to a 2-0 start with wins over Fayetteville and Prairie Grove. Since last season the GHS ladies have come to terms with the loss of former head coach Ronnie Sockey, who returned to Oklahoma (Poteau) to coach boys basketball after a decade in Greenwood.
Sockey was replaced by Donald Hart, an Arkansas Tech business grad who moved into education later in life, teaching and coaching at Paris High School for the past five years. Hart played baseball in college and later got into travel softball because of his four daughters, eventually changing careers. He loves the sport of softball and was excited about the chance to advance his coaching career by coming to Greenwood.
One of the early challenges for the new head coach was the decision by Mady Cartwright to forego her senior softball campaign in favor of preparing for the next step in her basketball career at the University of Tulsa. Cartwright and her teammates just won their second straight 5A state basketball title last Thursday night in Hot Springs. A two-sport athlete, Cartwright was the team’s starting shortstop and one of its best hitters, earning All-state honors last season.
But coaches lose players every year, usually to graduation, but also for other reasons, and Cartwright’s decision is certainly understandable, given her circumstances and the commitment she’s made to her basketball career and the University of Tulsa. Coach Hart respects her choice and wishes her well, as do all Greenwood sports fans.
“She was the only all-stater on the team last year,” acknowledged Hart. “She was our three-hole hitter, our shortstop, a great athlete, and a gritty player, but I feel like we have the personnel to still be successful. We’ve got a sophomore starting at shortstop, Morgan Coryell, and she’s done a really good job defensively for us and her bat is starting to come around. [Mady] would have helped us, but I understand her decision. We’re just trying to be successful with [the players] we have.”
Well, if the early results are any indication of what’s to come this season, Lady Bulldogs’ softball will be just fine moving forward. After drubbing Fort Smith Southside, 13-7, in a 10-inning benefit game on February 23rd, the GHS girls officially opened their season with a 3-2 victory at Fayetteville on the 27th before winning at Prairie Grove last Tuesday, 6-4. Greenwood also hosted Bentonville-West last Wednesday in what was originally slated to be junior varsity play only. Instead, both head coaches agreed to play a five-inning varsity contest which Greenwood also won, 3-0.
The team’s next varsity action will be at home on Tuesday, March 14th, an early conference doubleheader with Russellville. They will travel to Morrilton on Thursday for a split doubleheader, both varsity and junior varsity, before competing in a two-day tournament at Hope next weekend, March 17-18. After spring break, they will host Fort Smith Southside on the 27th in another split doubleheader before resuming conference play with a varsity twin bill at Van Buren the following day.
Hart has 27 young ladies signed up to play for him this season, including his daughter, Saylor, a sophomore outfielder. He also inherited two quality pitchers, Tori Howard and Haley McAdams, both juniors and both right-handed. There are four seniors on the team, seven juniors, seven sophomores, and four freshmen according to the roster provided by Coach Hart back in February. He is ably assisted by Mike Possage and Dianne Popp.
The seniors include Ireland Cooper, Rylee Cowart, Charlize Taylor, and Paige Pugh, all experienced players. The team’s junior class includes Howard, McAdams, Lani Coryell, Emmy Burton, Jaycee McBride, Natilee Horn, and Bri Taylor. The sophomores are Morgan Coryell, Shaylyn Morse, Brilea Rofkhar, Clara Burton, Saylor Hart, Rylee Floyd, and Piper Pitts. The four ninth graders include Victoria Griffith, Alyssa Lovell, Daisy Parker, and Kaylyn Jones. Additional players who recently joined the team include Lakyn Dawson, Montana Wilburn, and Miley Schwartz.
Coach Hart agreed that four seniors out of 27 players is not a lot. “But they are quality seniors,” he said. “All four have the possibility of playing at the next level. They are good leaders by example, and they are four very strong seniors. They will surely be missed next year.” Of the 27 players on his team roster, Hart said 22 are considered to be varsity players.
Regarding the 2023 schedule, Coach Hart was a late hire, making it somewhat difficult to find opponents with open dates who were willing to play Greenwood. “None of the schedule had been made,” he said, “and some of the teams we played last year had already rescheduled, so we have more away games than home games this year.” The new coach has also scheduled a number of junior varsity games early this season to get some experience for his younger players. Also, with Mady Cartwright’s decision not to play softball this year, Hart had only one girl still in basketball when softball season began. Sophomore Piper Pitts just joined the squad after the Lady Bulldogs won the state 5A basketball title last week.
The Lady Bulldogs finished 19-9 last season under Coach Sockey, losing in the second round of the state tournament. They tied with Van Buren for the conference championship with identical 11-3 records, but the Lady Pointers held the tiebreaker and earned the league’s #1 seed in the playoffs. A similar conference mark would be quite the achievement for Coach Hart in his first season, followed by a return trip to the playoffs, and he may well have the horses to run that race.
Of course, in fast-pitch softball it all starts in the circle with pitching, and Greenwood has two veteran hurlers returning with two more years of eligibility remaining. Juniors Tori Howard and Haley McAdams have both proven themselves to be reliable strike throwers, though neither one is really known as a flamethrower. According to Coach Hart, McAdams has more potential as a strikeout artist, but both hurlers generally try to induce soft contact and allow their defense to work for them.
“Both pitchers are going to keep us in ballgames,” said the coach. “They are different pitchers. Tori is more of a contact pitcher who hits her spots real well and mixes it up. Haley has a little more power and speed, and she just got her first Division-1 offer. Both could potentially play at the next level. I’m very glad to have both of them.”
In the outfield the Lady Bulldogs are blessed with a multitude of good players with varying degrees of experience, though question marks remain regarding positioning and who may start. “I think Rylee Cowart is looking at right field,” said Hart. “She’s a Williams Baptist signee who will also do some catching for us. Natilee Horn returns and will probably play some left and center field for us. She’s got speed. We’ve got Lani Coryell with a powerful bat and will play some left field for us. Emmy Burton is returning and will play some left field. My daughter, Saylor, will probably play a little center field, and Victoria Griffith might get some innings in right field.” The coach then turned his attention to the infield.
“At first base we’ve got Paige Pugh who is signed with ASU. She’s really developed from a leadership standpoint. Piper Pitts could see some varsity time in the outfield or at first base. At second base we have Ireland Cooper, who has great softball IQ, speed, and range. She’s probably going to play at the next level. I’ve also turned her around and she’s slapping the ball now and could be a real weapon for us from the left side.
“Morgan Coryell is at shortstop, and she’s worked really hard. She’s very explosive with some speed. Backing her up is Brilea Rofkhar who is coming off knee surgery. She will get some innings when she gets healthy. She’s a solid infielder who got some varsity time last year. At third base we’ve got Bri Taylor, who will be a big bat in the lineup with a solid glove and good arm. I look for a big season from her. Then we have a freshman, Daisy Parker, backing her up and will get a few varsity innings here and there.
“Behind the plate we’ve got Charlie Taylor, who is verbally committed to Carl Albert,” Hart continued. “That’s probably not her primary position, but that’s where we need her to play. She’s a true competitor with a big bat who is going to be our leadoff hitter. She’s a smart kid and she’s going to do a great job for us behind the dish. And if we need to move her around, she can play any position on the infield or outfield.”
Even without Mady Cartwright’s big bat in the lineup, Coach Hart is confident his lineup is still going to be tough from top to bottom. “Obviously, it’s probably going to change, but starting out we’re looking at Charlie Taylor leading off and Ireland Cooper in the two hole. In the three hole I’ve got Tori Howard, who probably has the most power on the team. She hits really well to the opposite field. She’s going to put the ball in play and probably hit a lot of doubles.
“In the four hole I haven’t really decided between Bri Taylor and Haley McAdams, but it will be them in the four and five holes. Batting sixth will be Paige Pugh and in the seventh hole is Rylee Cowart. In the eight hole we’re looking at Natilee Horn and in the nine hole Morgan Coryell with her speed to flip the lineup over. I have a lot of options and it may just be who’s hot and who’s not.”
Asked about the competition in the 5A West, Hart said, “Van Buren returns most everybody. I think they lost a couple players, but they’ve got the same pitcher. Right now I’d say they are the team to beat. But Harrison has moved into our conference and they were competitive at state in Class 4A every year. Greenbrier and Mountain Home are usually very competitive teams. I think Alma may be down this year. They lost their pitcher. We played Russellville this past summer and they will probably be improved from last season. Siloam Springs, I don’t know much about.
“We’ve been working hard all off-season,” explained the coach. After his hire in late June, Hart quickly called for a team meeting and tryouts for new players and even played some games in July. Regular team practices began with the start of school in August, working five days a week with around 20 players available to him, picking up a few more when volleyball ended in the fall and basketball more recently.
“I’ve gotten to know them, and they are hard workers,” revealed Hart. “We’ve been lifting [weights] since August and I found out they really like to lift. We wanted them to get stronger and more explosive. They work hard in the weight room, and they get after it in practice. We’ve also done a lot of speed and agility training to try to get faster. I’m really pleased with where we’re at. We’ve still got to get better, but we’ve got a lot of options.
“We’re two-deep in every spot defensively,” he added. “Offensively, I feel like I can put nine good bats in the lineup and we will be okay. We’ve worked really hard at trying to get better at the plate.” The coach himself also feels more comfortable these days in his new job. While he continues to commute daily from his home in Magazine, Greenwood is starting to feel more like home, at least professionally.
“It’s been great,” he said. “Change is always hard. You’re a little nervous and don’t know anybody. But I’ve built some good relationships with the kids already and several of the parents. As far as being a softball coach, it’s got to be the best job in the state. We’ve got support from the community and parents and the players are hungry to work. We’ve got nice facilities. It’s been a great move for me and I’m very glad I took that step and I’m very excited about the season. I know everybody has high expectations. We just want to continue building on the legacy that Coach Sockey started here.