The Lady Bulldogs have high hopes for the 2021 softball season, but Head Coach Ronnie Sockey and his players must wait a bit before charging full speed ahead on their quest to return to the state finals. The cold and snowy weather in February impacted the state basketball tournament, which the Arkansas Activities Association pushed back to the second week of March.

That decision means many softball teams will start their seasons without some of their best athletes on the diamond. Greenwood is no exception, with nearly half-a-dozen players transitioning between the two sports, including two key senior starters, pitcher Haven Clements and shortstop Ally Sockey.

Coach Sockey had already designed his team’s schedule to accommodate the late arrival of his basketball girls, starting the season with several junior varsity games. But now the 5A state basketball finals will be played in Hot Springs the weekend of March 18-20, meaning the GHS softball schedule had to be adjusted again, moving the team’s first two conference games deeper into the season. That process is ongoing.

But whenever the Lady Bulldogs’ roster achieves full capacity, they are once again poised to make a strong run through the 5A West conference and challenge for a state title. Discounting last spring’s aborted season, in his first seven years at Greenwood, Sockey has taken his team to the state finals or semi-finals nearly every year, winning the school’s first fast-pitch state championship in 2015.

But the Lady Bulldogs’ head coach doesn’t shy away from the reputation his teams have built over the past decade. Instead, he embraces the challenge. “I’d say we’re one of the favorites, and one of the teams everyone will be trying to beat. We’re definitely going to have a target on our back all year long, and by the end of the year we should be one of the top contenders to win it all,” he said with confidence.

In a recent telephone interview, the coach shared his thoughts about the 2020 season that never really got off the ground. “We only played some JV and JV2 games,” he recalled. “The varsity was starting the next week after the state [basketball] finals.” Of course, neither the state basketball finals nor the varsity softball season were meant to be.

“There was a lot of disappointment – all the hard work they’ve put in since they were five and six years old,” said Sockey. “And for those seniors it was their last chance. They didn’t get an extra year like the college athletes did. It’s something they will never get back. Coming off the year before (2019) when we got beat in the state finals and we had almost everybody coming back – just knowing what we had, it was hard to take.

“But it’s something we learned to live with, and we adjusted. The seniors this year talked about playing for those seniors [from] last year. This season means a lot to them, just being able to play for those girls who didn’t get to play last year. It means a little more this year. They [also] learned not to take things for granted.”

Among last year’s seniors were several players who have extended their playing careers in college. “Angela [Price] is at Kansas and Paxtyn [Hayes] is at Pitt State. Rheding Wagoner is at Carl Albert State College. Kya Schmidt is playing at Hot Springs National Park college and Emma McCorkle is playing at Ouachita Baptist. We have five of them playing college softball this year,” said the coach with understandable pride.”

As for this year’s senior class, the numbers are down a bit and they missed their junior season due to the Covid-19 outbreak, but the quality of talent remains high. Two of Greenwood’s players have already signed letters-of-intent to play for the University of Arkansas Lady Razorbacks after graduation.

“Our seniors this year are a little short [in numbers], but they’ve also been playing and starting a lot of the time since they were freshmen. [We had] two pretty good classes back-to-back,” said their coach. This year’s seniors include Haven Clements, Ally Sockey, Natalie Thomas, Chelsi Possage, Kinley Fisher, and Gracie Been.

“Our seniors this year [include] Ally,” Sockey said, referring to his daughter, considered by some recruiters to be among the top 30 prep players in the nation. “Chelsi Possage moved in [last year], and Natalie Thomas, who played quite a bit as a sophomore, probably would have been our starting first baseman last year. Kinley Fisher is [also] coming back out and she’s a real good athlete that will help us.” Clements is the team’s top pitcher and Been is a junior varsity player.

“Chelsi moved from Muldrow (OK) last year, and she’s committed to go to Arkansas also,” said the coach of the team’s other Division-I college recruit. Asked if he’d ever had two such talented college prospects on one of his teams, Sockey said emphatically, “Not in any sport,” emphasizing the rarity of such an occurrence. Had the 2020 season not been cancelled, the now graduated Angela Price would have given the Lady Bulldogs three Division-I college prospects.

“We’ve got those two (Sockey & Possage) up the middle, and last year we would have had three of them, which would have been unheard of in high school. It’s going to be special watching them play up the middle and being leaders on our infield and stepping up for us this year. Possage will be at second base or third base, depending on what kind of team we’re playing. She’s versatile and can play a lot of different spots,” said the coach.

“The junior class is pretty small,” he added, continuing to survey the varsity roster. “Macey Cutsinger probably would have started last year, and we’re definitely counting on her to take over in the outfield. She’ll probably be our centerfielder and leadoff hitter. She’s brings a lot of speed and a really good bat to the table for us.

“Kylie Lawson is a big strong girl who can really hit. We’re looking at her playing some first base or third base or being our designated player (DP).” Two-sport athlete Abby Summitt is also a junior who plays basketball and should contribute on the diamond this season as well.

But while the junior class is thin on numbers, the sophomore class is heavily populated with athletic talent and potential, though lacking experience because of their lost 2020 season. “The sophomore class got to play a couple weeks of JV games last year and they were doing well. They were beating some varsity teams early,” recalled Sockey.

Among the top sophomores this season is Madison (Madi) Cartwright, a two-sport athlete who also starts for the basketball team along with senior teammates Ally Sockey, Kinley Fisher, and Haven Clements. “Madison is a really good athlete with a great arm,” said the coach. “And when she came out for tryouts in the fall, she was hitting the ball pretty well for not playing in a couple of years. It’s going to be good to have her back out to fill some spots for us.”

Other sophomores listed on the team’s roster include Ireland Cooper, Madelyn Cassat, Lilly Williams, Claire Chapple, Charlize Taylor, Paige Pugh, Rylee Cowart, and Lillyanna Gigerich, several of which will see significant playing time this season and some could even compete for starting positions, said the coach.

“We’ve [also] got a really good freshmen class,” he continued. “I’ve got four freshmen that are going to fill some spots for us, and two good ones that can pitch, Tori Howard and Haley McAdams. Both are good [athletes] who have played a lot of travel ball and can pitch really well.

“Playing doubleheader varsity games in our conference, it’s important to have two or three pitchers. One starts and the other relieves. A lot of teams just have one pitcher they try to ride all year long, but that wears them out. Having two or three pitchers in softball is a big plus. On our staff we have six girls that can pitch. Lilly Williams, Madelyn Cassat, and Claire Chapple can also pitch and play other positions too. We need to get them some experience and get them ready for next year.”

As for the team’s #1 hurler, there is no doubt. Senior Haven Clements had the job as a sophomore and pitched her teammates to the state finals against Sheridan. “Her sophomore year she was our #1 girl,” said Coach Sockey. “She pitched in most of our state tournament games and the state finals, and did really well.

“She’s not a big strikeout girl, but she’s going to get groundouts, popups, and not walk people. She’s going to pitch to contact and get people out.” That formula works well with the solid defense Greenwood has this season, especially up the middle with Ally Sockey at shortstop, Chelsi Possage at second, and Macey Cutsinger in centerfield.

The other defensive position of paramount importance is the back half of the battery behind the plate. Paxtyn Hayes filled that roll for the last four years, but the job is now open and up for grabs in the early going this season. “That’s one of our biggest question marks right now, who’s going to be our catcher,” admitted the coach.

“We’ve got sophomore Charlize Taylor, a good glove and a big hitter for us,” said Sockey. “Then we’ve got a freshman in Taylor Nichols. She’s really quick back there with a strong arm. She just doesn’t have as much [varsity] experience, but she’s played a lot of travel ball. A third one is Rylee Cowart, a sophomore.

“So we’ve got three options behind the plate we’re looking at, but it’s probably going to take some time to play out and see who’s going to be our #1 back there. More than likely it will be two of them rotating in and out of the lineup based on who’s playing best defensively,” said the coach, now entering his ninth season at Greenwood.

The veteran head coach then went around the diamond naming his starters or potential starters at each position, but in some cases the position will be filled by a platoon of two or three different players, which speaks of both the depth and versatility of this team.

“Natalie Thomas is one of our seniors,” he began. “She can hit really well and she is our #1 choice at first base. We’ve also got Kylie Lawson, a junior, and Paige Hughes, a sophomore, who is a good hitter.

“[Chelsi] Possage will be our main second baseman,” he continued. “Behind her we have two sophomores with Ireland Cooper and Lillyanna Gigerich. We’ve also got Kinley Fisher, but she can play infield or outfield. Ally [Sockey] will be #1 at shortstop and Chelsi will back her up.”

In the outfield, the Lady Bulldogs have a multitude of qualified athletes vying for playing time, including Claire Chapple, Madison Cartwright, and Tory Howard, among others. “We lost all three starters in the outfield,” offered Sockey. “It’s just going to take some time to figure out who’s going to be there. There’s no shortage of candidates.

“In left field is probably Mia McCoy,” he mused. “She’s just a super athlete. She’s good defensively and real fast.” Only a freshman, McCoy excelled in volleyball last fall as a two-sport performer.

“In center will be Macey Cutsinger. She’s got good speed and knows the game. Right field will probably be Claire Chapple (if not at third base). Left and right field are positions we have open and are looking to fill early in the year,” said the coach, who doesn’t mind platooning at one or more positions, if it means getting his best athletes on the field in situations where they can succeed.

“[We] will definitely platoon early in the season, trying to find who’s going to be our best hitters and give us our best offensive lineup, and who’s going to be our best defensive players. There will probably be some situational stuff too.”

Asked which he prefers on his infield, better defense or offensive players that can handle the bat, he said, “On our infield I favor our defensive lineup because Haven gets a lot of ground balls. We definitely want to have our best infield defense.” Fortunately, Haven Clements, Ally Sockey, Chelsi Possage, and Macey Cutsinger are also good hitters as well.

“Through the middle our defense is really strong, from pitcher to middle infield to centerfield,” acknowledged Sockey. “The real question is who is going to step up for us at catcher.”

Turning his attention to the batting order, the coach already has a pretty good idea, especially at the top. “Cutsinger will be at leadoff,” he revealed. “Two and three will probably be Ally and Chelsi. Claire Chappel, Haven Clements, or Tory Howard will be at cleanup. They are all good contact hitters and will put the ball in play.

“We did lose a lot of power from last year’s bunch, and won’t hit the homeruns we were going to hit last year. It’s going to be a lot of speed and putting the ball in play and moving runners around. We’ve got a lot more contact hitters, but have showed signs of having some power in practice. We’ll have to wait until we face some live pitching.

“The seven and eight holes will be Natalie [Thomas] and Charlize Taylor or whoever our catcher is, then either our DP or Mia McCoy in the nine hole that can bring some more speed to the [lineup]. We don’t have any lefties at all. No slappers or true lefties,” said the coach.

Asked about his team’s strengths, Sockey was quick to respond, “Defense and pitching, and the speed we have on offense and contact hitting. We’re deep but just lack experience. They still have to prove themselves in big game situations.”

While the schedule is still evolving, according to the coach, an agreement has already been reached to move the season’s first conference game, originally slated for March 9th, a full week before the state basketball finals.

“At the bottom of our schedule we’ve got a whole week of nothing that we left open, just in case. That Greenbrier game is a conference game they made us move up. But the [athletic directors] agreed that if basketball is still going on, we will reschedule it.” It appears that the Greenbrier doubleheader will now be played on Thursday, April 8th.

The coach also mentioned the addition of two new teams this season on the conference schedule, Van Buren and Mountain Home, replacing Little Rock Christian and Beebe. “Van Buren is new to the conference and they are always pretty decent,” he said. “We’ve heard the state tournament is probably going to be at Mountain Home, though we’re not 100% sure on that. But they play on turf, so we may play at Benton (also a turf field) just to get the experience of playing on turf.”

As of now the non-conference game with Benton is scheduled for April 23rd at Arkansas Tech University, but that could change. Other notable non-conference varsity games include Fort Smith Northside (3/18), Fort Smith Southside (3/29), Farmington (4/1), Fayetteville (4/5), Bentonville (4/9), Beebe (4/16), and Bentonville West (4/30).

The Lady Bulldogs will also participate in three tournaments, two of which will be on the road. The first will be at Farmington the weekend of March 19-20. The second will be at Van Buren on April 2-3, and the third will be hosted by Greenwood on April 9-10. The Greenwood Festival will feature a pair of 6A teams in Conway and Bentonville. Sheridan was originally part of that tournament, but cancelled. Efforts to replace the defending state champs have so far been in vain.

“Sheridan has won state four or five years in a row,” said Coach Sockey. “Bentonville and Conway are coming in, and we’re trying to find someone to take Sheridan’s place. We’re still working on putting that schedule together.”

In the meantime, those Lady Bulldogs not involved in basketball will open the season with a series of junior varsity games against the likes of Fort Smith Northside and Southside, Bentonville West, and Bentonville. Because of his team’s excellent numbers and great depth, Sockey fields two JV teams in addition to his varsity squad.

“It’s going to be an exciting bunch to watch, even the JV games,” he said in summing up his expectations for the coming season. Sockey is also anxious for local fans to come out and watch his Lady Bulldogs make yet another run at a state title, hoping to wrestle it away from Sheridan, despite concerns over the pandemic.

“We’re still making plans for what the rules will be for Covid-19 and attendance,” he said. “We want to get as many fans in [the stands] as we can. We’ve got some room in the outfield, so we can put in some [more] bleachers. The last few years we’ve had good crowds.”

The Governor has recently relaxed some of the safety protocols on businesses and restaurants and may eliminate the statewide mask mandate at the end of March, though individual schools may continue the practice.