The Northmor softball team lost three key players to graduation, but the Golden Knights have returned nine letter winners, led by 2021 All-KMAC honorable mention Taylor Cantrell, who began the season going 4-for-4 against Bucyrus in the season opener and is currently hitting .351.
The head coach is not shy in setting goals for the team to compete at a high level.
Northmor is coming off a 12-14 season and was 4-8 in KMAC, and coach Matt Wiseman said the girls are ready to compete against top teams, including league leaders Cardington-Lincoln and Fredericktown, and compete with Centerberg, East Knox and Danville for a final-four spot. Wiseman said that this is the most talented group he has coached at Northmor.
“Our goal for the year is to set the school record for wins (14), win a district title and compete in the KMAC,” said Wiseman. While off to a 4-8 start, Wiseman still has hopes for a postseason spot.
Coming off a solid freshman year is sophomore Maddison Simpson, who batted .398 and had a slugging percentage of .639 playing third base and catcher in 2021. Simpson is off to a successful start in 2022, and the team has gotten solid contribution from Cantrell, Simpson, Emily Zeger and Mahalia Stroebel so far this season.
Wiseman said losing Morgan Wiseman, Megan Adkins and Maddie Hoverland is tough to overcome. Morgan Wiseman was a first team KMAC, first team Central District and honorable mention for All-Ohio. She had a .412 batting average and .472 on base percentage. Adkins and Hoverland were both second team KMAC and had solid batting averages of .354 and .337 respectively, while also hitting for power with .610 and .523 slugging percentages. Hoverland also lit it up the base paths with 25 steals.
Matt Wiseman has plenty of experience that adds to his coaching philosophy, saying he played baseball for many years, including at Bluffton University. He is also inspired by past coaches such as Dick Pace of Cardington-Lincoln, who was his Legion baseball coach. He also looks to his first coach, his father, Steve Wiseman. Matt Wiseman has a defense-first outlook and said he is likely to play fast to put pressure on opponents.
“This aggressive mindset is just how we need to play,” Wiseman said. “Don’t give extra chances, and don’t give up outs waiting for three-run homers."
Northmor's success as a softball team has been up and down over the years. It has three sectional championships, in 2014, 2017 and 2021, and a district trophy. The team was a runner-up last year.
“We use players from the past to help motivate our girls to not take pitches off and to enforce how lucky we are to play this game,” Wiseman said, adding that the team focuses on the slogans of “together,” “family” and “compete.” He said that despite the slow start, the team improves with every game and has seen bright spots in individual play and team performance this season.
Through the beginning of the week, Simpson was third in KMAC with her batting average at .574 and third in hits with 27; Zeger was seventh in slugging percentage at .756; Stroebel was tied for eighth in doubles with five; Zeger was tied for third in triples with four; Stroebel was tied for third in home runs with three and was sixth in RBIs with 20; Simpson was tied for the KMAC lead in stolen bases with 16; and Kate Kissling’s four wins placed her in a tie for fourth, with her 40 strikeouts fifth best among KMAC leaders.
