North Union third baseman Avery Clark fields the ball and prepares to throw to first base during a recent softball game against Pleasant. The Lady Cats will head to Ashland today to compete in the 25th annual Wendy’s Spring Classic.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
The Lady Cats of North Union will be headed to Ashland to compete in the 25th annual Wendy’s Spring Classic softball tournament today.
Not only will the Lady Cats face some of their toughest competition of the season, but head coach Dawn Draper uses the tournament as a measuring stick to judge where her players stack up heading into the final portion of the regular season.
The problem facing this year’s Lady Cats is not the talent. It is the weather. North Union has only played nine games to date out of their scheduled 15 and when those games are rescheduled is up to the weather.
“All of these postponements or cancellations, it is almost a mental game now” said Draper. “We don’t even know what to expect because the weather is so crazy all the time.”
With the weather being as sporadic as it has been this season, the Lady Cats have been able to win with consistency.
However, they have not been able to play with consistency.
“We want to play because we’ve got to get in the groove,” said Draper. “To be able to get there and be able compete at the high level, that is what we are going to have do.”
The Lady Cats will take an 8-1 record to Ashland with their only loss coming at the hands of Jonathan Alder.
The Lady Cats have been fairly dominant when they do win, claiming victories with score lines as high as 21-0. Draper says that the real test will be when they face off against Milford in the opening round of the Wendy’s Classic.
“They are all great teams,” she said. “We are meant to see Milford and Elyria. These are teams that won state tournaments last year. The Wendy’s Classic is no joke.”
Milford is a team that is familiar with winning. The Lady Eagles play in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference where they have a 9-4 record with some impressive wins of their own.
Draper, though, looks forward for the chance to play tough teams.
“That is what is going to make us better, playing good competition,” she said. “We want to see how we play and where we stand.”
Joining North Union in the black pool of the tournament will be Leo, from Indiana, Hurricane, from West Virginia, Ursuline, Ashland, Canfield, Elryia and Milford.
Each team will play three games with the possibility of having major consequences for the rest of the season.
“This could really make or break in the tournament seeding as well,” said Draper. “If you come out of the Wendy’s Classic with a 0-3 record, your (season) record could really look bad.”
Draper believes the tough competition will highlight any holes in the team that need to be addressed.
“We just have to go out play a solid game,” she said. “We don’t want to beat ourselves.
“If we lose, we will learn from it,” said Draper. “We will figure out where our mistakes are and we will work at them for the (state) tournament.”
North Union will play their first game this evening with the tournament concluding on Saturday, weather permitting.