​Grain Valley pitching trio hopes to lead Eagles to district title

by Michael Smith


The Grain Valley softball team has had a good amount of success in recent years.

Last season, the Eagles went 23-7 last season, but fell 5-3 in the first round of the Class 5 District 6 Tournament against Fort Osage. The team has won at least 20 games for five consecutive seasons, but was unable to come away with a district championship.

Second-year head coach Flip Courter and his players hope to overcome that hump and win a district championship in 2024 behind a trio of talented pitchers.

Senior Makenna Moore, junior Sidney Hemme, and sophomore Molly Jones are three hurlers who will see time in the circle and whom Courter expects to be major contributors for this season.

Last season, Hemme made both the all-region and all-district teams. Moore was someone who helped keep the scores close against elite level opponents such as Raymore-Peculiar and Troy Buchanan.

Moore, the ace of the staff, has the most velocity behind her pitches and is someone who an NCAA Division I caliber prospect as she will pitch for Jacksonville State in 2025.

Hemme had a stellar season in 2023 as she went 8-2 with a 1.32 earned run average and had 63 strikeouts, 23 walks and notched a 1.13 walks and hits per inning pitched. Hemme stated her breaking pitches are her best ones and what helped her have success last season.

Jones doesn’t throw as hard as Hemme or Moore, but she is good at locating her pitches and using her changeup to get outs.

Courter said he plans on using all three pitchers this season, which is a different approach than most other teams use. Most teams usually have one workhorse pitcher to toss most games, while having a second pitcher who goes in when the ace needs a rest or if the workload needs to be split due to having to play multiple games in one day.

“In softball, 90 percent of the game is pitching,” Courter said. “We bring back three good pitchers off last year’s team. “Having three pitchers gives us the flexibility so we don’t have to use the same pitcher over and over.

“Our pitchers aren’t going to have the gaudy numbers because we are splitting things three ways.”

Hemme noted that having three pitchers could provide an advantage for the Eagles.

“Our pitching is really diverse,” Hemme said. “A lot of our pitchers are good for different situations. All our pitchers can handle any situation. We are deep.”

It will help the Eagles have a solid defense behind them, led by sophomore center fielder Madison Rust, who covers a lot of ground, according to Courter and his players.

“I could put ball anywhere in any situation and I, 100 percent trust my field to back me up and get us out of any situation,” Hemme said.

Olivia Slaughter will be tasked with calling the pitches as she is a returning starter who will play at catcher. She split time with another catcher in 2023 but will start most games in 2024. On offense, she is one of the best hitters on the team. She is good at hitting line drives and had a few homeruns last season.

Senior Sal Haley returns as the starting third baseman after coming off an outstanding season in which she hit .432 and had a 1.210 on based plus slugging percentage with three homeruns and 33 runs-batted in.

“She’s a phenomenal third baseman,” Courter said. “She gives us a really good bat in the middle of the lineup.”

Senior Kiersten Parker will return to play second base for the Eagles. She is a power hitter with a big swing and gives the team some speed on the basepaths. Rust likely will be Grain Valley’s leadoff hitter as she provides speed and is an above-average contact hitter at the plate.

Junior Syndee Wagner is a returner at shortstop. Like Parker, she has some pop in her bat and can hit some homeruns.

The Eagles have some vacancies at the corner outfield spots and at first base. Courter said Jones and Hemme can play in the field when they are not pitching. Seniors Melissa Riggle and Bailey Mason and junior Morgan Hart could get some playing time, too. Newcomers such as freshmen Abrianna Scott and Mackenzie Rust could get into the mix, as well.

“We have a lot of different girls who play a lot of different positions. We will be pretty stacked this year.,” Haley said.

With multiple options and pitcher and in the field, Grain Valley could have the depth and the talent to win an elusive district championship.

​“There has been only one final four team in Grain Valley’s history,” Courter said. “Grain Valley has a strong softball tradition, but we haven’t gotten over that hump to make the final four. I don’t see why that shouldn’t be one of our goals.”
 

Grain Valley junior pitcher Sydney Hemme, left, and senior third baseman Sal Haley are two of the six returning starters for the Grain Valley softball team and hope to lead the Eagles to a district title. Photo credit: Michael Smith