Rylee Sarti plays first base for Gillespie.
The Miners softball team (29-3) is writing history for Gillespie High School, but that isn’t the priority for head coach Michelle Smith as she leads her team into the regional championship that will be played Saturday in Gillespie.
“We take it one game at a time,” Smith said Monday evening at the district’s school board meeting extending the team’s success to her assistant coaches Joe Kelly and Jim Matesa. “The girls slapped a 28 on the dugout and we reached 28 wins. Now they replaced it with 30.”
Smith extended the team’s success to her assistant coaches Joe Kelly and Jim Matesa
The 30
th win for the team is on the brim for Saturday and reaching the goal would add another piece of hardware to the softball program’s expansive trophy case. This year’s team is in the midst of setting a new school record for the most wins in a season after surpassing the program’s old record of 27 wins achieved in the 2004-2005 season.
Gillespie broke the record last Saturday with a pair of roads wins against two 20-win teams – Camp Point Central and Quincy Notre Dame. The Miners beat Camp Point 5-3 in a back and forth affair before blanking Quincy Notre Dame 6-0 with 10 strikeouts from junior Addison Bryant.
The Miners extended their win column to 29 wins with a 6-0 victory over Litchfield Wednesday afternoon in the regional semi-finals punching their ticket to the regional championship on Saturday. The championship game will be played at 11:00 a.m. at the new softball field south of Ben-Gil Elementary School in Gillespie.
“We start every season with the same goals – 20 wins, a conference championship and to go as far as we can in the postseason,” Smith added after saying the team is tied for the top spot in the South Central Conference. “So far the sectional title has been the crutch, so we will take it one game at a time.”
Smith has led the softball program since 2005 compiling six regional titles.
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