Springtime Sports: BATTLE AT THE PLATE

By Emery Seitz | Staff Writer

In the late 2000s, the Kapaun Mt. Carmel baseball team was a force to be reckoned with, making the Top 3 at state four years in a row. After several disappointing seasons, the team is more than ready to make a comeback, and has put in the work to make it back to the top.
“We all put in a lot of work at practice and strive to be one of the best teams,” senior first baseman Cal Purvis said. “Historically, we haven’t always been very good and we’re trying to turn the program around.”
The baseball team is already poised to make itscomeback after a significant 5-3 victory over Bishop Carroll on April 9, which has not been done since 2018.
“When these guys show up, compete, are consistent, and do all the right things, we can beat anyone,” coach Mike Pelfrey said. “It’s just a matter of figuring out how to get to that spot every day, mentally and physically, and then going out there and performing.”
The team dynamic has been especially crucial in the baseball team’s recent success. With six seniors, there are many athletes that coaches can count on to set the tone for younger players.
“I usually lean on the seniors to take charge and take control,” Pelfrey said. “I always say that the teams that have players who hold each other accountable are really good teams. We’ve got guys that have been around the program a couple years, so I always look to them to lead by example.”
With the team on the path to greatness, they have potential to make a name for themselves at the state tournament this year.
"The ultimate goal is to win a state championship,” Pelfrey said. “And, once you make it to state, anything can happen. It’s just a matter of us putting the right nine guys out there and being consistent, which would give us a chance. If we can do that, we can go as far as we want to.”
As of April 26, the baseball team has a record of 8-5 with its next game May 1 vs. North at Westurban.
This year, the softball team has had to rebuild after the loss of a strong senior class and four new head coaches in the past six years. However, with the leadership of senior outfielder Brooklyn Milleson and senior catcher Lucille Glover, the team hopes to reenergize the program and generate more interest for next year.
“We only have one pitcher left, so that was a big thing,” Milleson said. “We’ve had to learn how to work with one pitcher and we really have to rely on our teammates.”
This season, they were met with another change: a new coach, Josh Livengood, who has nine years of experience coaching club softball.
“My favorite thing about coach Josh is how he is very balanced in the way he pushes us as a team but he is also so fun,” Glover said. “We get to play a lot of games that are very competitive.”
They are also an inexperienced team, split evenly with five upperclassmen and five underclassmen. This has posed a challenge with inexperienced underclassmen being new to the program itself.
“We’re a really young team, with only two seniors and a few juniors,” Livengood said. “We’re really trying to set expectations, which will definitely set us up for success not only this season, but years down the road.”
Softball’s greatest challenge is the low number of players that showed up for tryouts this year.
“We had low participant numbers this year,” Livengood said. “So, we have a lot of girls bouncing back and forth, playing with JV and varsity so that we can fill both teams. That’s probably our biggest challenge, operating two teams with low numbers.”
Even with all these setbacks, the girls have a record of 7-4 and are ranked second in the City League as of April 26. Their next game is May 5 vs. Heights at TRYC.