The Bethlehem Banshee Softball team celebrated their seniors with a very special evening at their new ball park and just to make it official one of their own signed a letter of intent to further their college career playing the game that she loved.
First off, Bethlehem head coach Shaun Smith honored their seven seniors with a special event at the new Softball facility complete with banners, balloons and a picnic dinner afterwards. While most schools have already done their senior celebrations, the Banshees braintrust decided to make an even bigger deal with a signing afterwards under the new scoreboard.
The seven seniors were Savannah Beyerle 1B OF #44
Makenna Ellis 1B OF #1
Faith Hall OF Utility #28
Carly Jones OF SS #00
Claire Osborne 2B #24
Mollie Ulrich OF #19
Kennady Warner C SS #3
Most have started and several have or would’ve been in bigger roles this season. Kennady Warner had been behind the plate as a backstop and could play infield or shortstop. She was the top hitter on the Banshees in 2019 with a .625 average. She led the team with 46-RBI’s and 6-HRs. She also swiped 37-bases.
Carly Jones could play all over mostly as an outfielder the previous year and hit .394 in 2019. She collected 39-hits, 21-RBI’s, 16-stolen bases and 16-walks.
Makenna Ellis played mostly at first base while batting .294, 25-hits, 20-RBI’s, 13-walks and 8-Stolen bases.
Savannah Beyerle was a starter in rightfield most of 2019 and batted .247,while collecting 15-runs, 19-hits, 20-RBI’s on 15-walks and 5-stolen bases.
Faith Hall was listed as an outfielder and Utility player and would have gotten more playing time.
Claire Osborne was used mainly as a second baseman in 2019 had collected 24-runs, 12-hits, 13-walks and 14-stolen bases while batting .200.
Mollie Ulrich was listed as an outfielder and would have seen playing time.
Since the 2019 team had only graduated one senior (Mattie Robbins), there was reason to believe that this team could have made an even bigger move from the 22-win season that finished up at Central Hardin for the first round of the 5th Region Tourney. Unfortunately, that Banshee team ran into the wrong team in their first game.
Still, this years combination of experience and talent could have made an even bigger move than the 2014 and 2015 teams which finished up in the Final Four of the Region Tournament with players like Abbi Duncan, Grason Gasser, Mollie Sims, Morgan Salsman and Alex Newton. That’s why this year’s cancelled season was so even more painful for all those involved. Add in the fact that the Banshees were about to open a brand new Ballpark and that these seniors never got a chance to even play in it in their last go around. That’s painful and kind of unfair.
Imagine telling those girls that the last high school game that they would play in as a team would be the playoff disaster against Central Hardin and you’d be hard pressed to get a sane reaction from any of them.
As I said that the beginning, Coach Smith decided to really make a party of the evening and even had Carly Jones college signing right after the banner ceremony. Jones will continue her playing career ar Midway College and with a pen in her hand, the senior signed on the dotted line while seated under the brand new Softball Scoreboard. Kind of fitting that Jones and her senior teammates actually opened the ballpark with a good bye ceremony.
Afterwards, the seven seniors talked about how they had played together and many in other sports and how it was somewhat sad that it was coming to an end in such a strange and unexpected way. I asked them if they would like to all return someday playing in a softball alumni game in this park and they all seemed to be very receptive to the idea. Of course, that’s something that coach Smith and the boosters will have to work out.
I asked one of the seniors privately if it would be funny if she graduated the same year that the park opened, but when someone asked her later on why she said that the first game that she played there wasn’t until three years later. Her response was “Yeah. That would be funny.”
Funny and kind of strange, which best defines the 2020 Banshee Softball Season.
