Record: 14-10 Tournament:

Cassville hosts the Class 3, District 6 Tournament

First round: No. 2 Cassville faces No. 7 Nevada

Big 8 Co-Champion Cassville earns No. 2 seed, hosts tourney BY KYLE TROUTMAN

ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com The Cassville softball team — Big 8 Conference co-champions for the first time in school history — has locked down the No. 2 seed in the Class 3, District 6 Tournament, which the Lady Wildcats will host for the second year in a row.

Jordan Savage, Cassville softball coach, said his squad (14-10) is chomping at the bit to get back to district glory, having won its first ever district title in 2023 and falling 7-6 in a 13-inning thriller against Nevada last season.

“They are ready to get back there,” he said.

Cassville had locked in a share of the Big 8 Conference title before a 13-3 loss to McDonald County on Oct. 9. Having defeated the Lady Mustangs 6-3 earlier in the season, the two teams share the conference hardware.

“This team has worked extremely hard all year long and made this one of their goals before the season,” Savage said. “They knew that they had a chance to make history, and they showed up every day with the purpose to reach that goal. I am very proud of what they have accomplished, and I am excited to see how far this team can continue to go. They are great kids and I am grateful for the opportunity to coach them.”

Riding the wave of adding to the trophy case, the Lady Wildcats open their district campaign at 4 p.m. on Wednesday (today) against No. 7 Nevada, a team they have beaten 14-0 and 11-1 in regular-season play.

The winner of the contest will face the winner of today’s 2 p.m. game between No. 3 Aurora and No. 6 Clinton at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

On the top half of the bracket, No. 1 Logan-Rogersville received a bye and, at 4 p.m. Thursday, will face the winner of today’s 6 p.m. contest between No. 4 Seneca and No. 5 Monett.

The championship is set for 6 p.m. on Monday.

Savage said the seeding played out about how expected, with Logan-Rogersville the clear No. 1 after defeating Cassville 6-3 in early September, and Cassville the clear No. 2.

“I’m happy with our placement,” he said. “The three through six seeds were really tight, and it was tough to differentiate between them, but I fell the seeds fell as they should.”

Savage said the team will carry confidence into the opener, having defeated the Lady Tigers twice already, but he also said the Lady Wildcats cannot relax.

“We feel pretty good having beat them twice, but I tell the girls all the time you can’t underestimate anyone in the postseason. Just one mistake or bad game could be the difference, and we don’t want to be caught off-guard against any team.”

Cassville has not played Clinton this season, but it has two wins over Aurora, 14-2 and 8-1. If the Lady Wildcats can take care of business, Savage said a potential championship against Logan-Rogersville will be a competitive one.

“When we played them earlier this season, they got up on us 4-0 in the first and we battled back, then they had a couple hits late,” he said. “We are very evenly matched, in my opinion, and they have been playing well lately.”

Savage said to lift the second district trophy in three years, Cassville has to simply stay the course.

“It’s the same process,” he said. “Our pitching is good and keeps us in games, so we need good at-bats up and down the lineup and need to get those big hits to drive in runs in big spots.

“It’s just a matter of getting hits. We have to continue with our approach, and eventually, we will push some runs across if we can keep putting pressure on their defense to make plays.”

Home field advantage could come into play, which Savage said would not be possible without recent facility upgrades.

“It’s a tip of the cap to our facilities and what our district has done [to get to host two years in a row],” he said. “Everyone had a good opinion of the facilities last year and a pleasant time. The turf gives us an advantage against weather, and Clinton has the longest drive but is content to come to our facilities.”