GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — Grain Valley went 33-3 this season in softball, the best season in school history.
It was thanks, in large part, to a trio of standout pitchers: senior Makenna Moore, junior Sidney Hemme and sophomore Molly Jones.
"Makenna is way more of a power pitcher," Grain Valley softball head coach Flip Courter. "Sidney, she's got good velocity, too, but there's a little bit more finesse, more spin there."
Courter continues, "And Molly is your finesse, control pitcher."
Sure enough, Moore went 11-2 with 172 strikeouts on the season and a 1.14 ERA.
"We're obviously a very talented pitching staff," Moore said. "And I feel like also what helped was the chemistry between the team and everybody in general."
Hemme went 14-1 on the season and had a .82 ERA.
"It was awesome to be able to know that if I ever got myself in a jam, I had two pitchers who could immediately come back after me," Hemme said.
And Jones was a perfect 8-0 on the season with a miniscule .55 ERA.
"The culture and the chemistry this year it was just incredible," said Jones.
Courter added, "The girls were so good to accept those roles."
Everything was going smoothly, too.
The Eagles were not only the No.1 ranked team in Missouri, but got as high as No. 9 in the nation.
Then Monday's district final game came against Columbia Rock Bridge.
The bats cooled off and Rock Bridge scored some runs and Grain Valley took a 4-1 loss, ending its season.
"Yes it didn't end how we wanted it to and that sucks, but, I mean, it's more than just about that last game," Moore said.
"You have that want to get further in the season," Jones said. "In the back of your mind it's just state championship."
Grain Valley had already beaten Rock Bridge this season. In fact, the Eagles beat the other two teams they lost to as well.
"To come and break records and just be in the moment, I felt like we've done really good all year," Hemme said.
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