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LLOYD Putting together a winning team can be a lot like constructing a puzzle. Each piece must fit the other to come together to make up a completed product.
Greenup County has been masterfully putting the puzzle together this season as the Musketeers eye postseason glory.
The centerpiece of their puzzle is pitcher Josey Kegley, who has an ERA of just .47 across 88.2 innings pitched in 15 games. The sophomore has collected 14 wins, one save, and 172 strikeouts at the close of April.
However, as important as dominance in the circle can be, there are plenty of pieces placed around the pitching every time a Musketeer comes to the plate.
Greenup County has excelled at producing offense this season, with an array of hitters who have been a perfect complement to Kegley’s stifling pitching.
“It’s really all about having the right approach,” Greenup County coach Deven VanBibber said. “They know what they’re doing at the plate and have the right idea every single pitch.”
Those “ideas” have led to the Musketeers outscoring their opponents this year, 161 runs to just 35. That averages out to a final score of 8.47-1.8 in favor of Greenup County, as the calendar turns to May.
The team boasts nine players with batting averages above .300, including three that exceed .410.
“We attack every single pitch,” VanBibber said. “That’s our motto, it’s the next-pitch mentality. Whether we’re up or down, we’re attacking the next pitch regardless.”
Two prominent pieces of the hitting performance this season are juniors Maddy Steele and Laela Matthews.
Steele leads the team in hits this season with 30 and has a team-high average of .517 at the plate.
“I’ve just been focused on hitting through the fence,” Steele said. “It’s just about hitting line drives and knocking on the top of the fence.”
Matthews carries an average of .352, has the second most home runs this season with five and has batted in 18 runs on 19 hits.
“We’ve spent a lot of time working hard to get where we are with our hitting,” Matthews said. “We had a big loss with Skyler (Lawrence) and Kennedy (McCoy) gone from last year, so I’m surprised at how well we’ve hit the ball this year.”
The presence of Kegley in the circle goes hand in hand with the hitting and gives the batters a little confidence boost, knowing that the other team is going to have a tough time producing at the plate.
“Josey’s throwing great, so that has to help with it,” VanBibber said. “Having confidence is a huge part of it, and then also knowing what you want to do with the ball when you’re at the plate.”
Kegley’s success takes a little weight off Steele’s shoulders at the plate.
“For me, when I go up to the plate, I know I don’t have to worry about it,” Steele said. “Even if I don’t get a hit, I know Josey’s going to come out and I can just work on the next at bat.”
“I feel like we can just have as many chances as we want with Josey pitching,” Matthews added. “And that’s huge because I feel like anybody in the lineup can hit the ball really well.”
Greenup County’s roster consists of relatively younger players, with a pair of juniors and a lone senior in Madison Ross, making up the more seasoned players.
The dynamic has created leaders across age groups on the team, with Matthews and Steele chief among them.
“I feel like we have five leaders on the team,” VanBibber said. “You have Madison, our senior. You have Laela and Maddy, the juniors. and then there’s Josey and Adrian (Wells), two sophomores who have played a lot of ball for us. For all of them, there are just times when they can really get the point across that we need. There’s times when things coaches can’t say that players take care of, and they do a great job of that.”
For Matthews, being a leader is easier because of how receptive her teammates are to any sort of constructive criticism.
“There’s a lot of people always helping each other,” Matthews said. “Nobody gets mad at each other. It’s always positive feedback and nobody gets mad if you get that feedback.”
Steele sees the leadership role as helping to form a family-like bond with her teammates.
“We really try to keep us all together,” Steele said. “Everyone likes to split into groups, but we really just try to get in one big group so we can all just be a family.”
The season’s success at the plate has been a constant since the first game of the year as the Musketeers hit the ground running.
“We don’t get very many days off,” Matthews said. “And when we do, we still work by ourselves to get better. Everybody on this team wants to get better and show what we can do.”
Steele said that patience at the plate has been a large part of that work.
“We’re up there waiting for that pitch,” Steele said. “There’s a lot of cheers from the dugout, but we’re telling each other all the time, ‘Wait for your pitch. It’s gotta be your pitch, and if it isn’t, don’t swing.’”
The hard work is seen as an investment, where the real payoff will come in the postseason. So as the bats keep swinging for the Musketeers, and their record keeps stacking wins, VanBibber says the team’s goals are set farther down the road.
“Our goal isn’t really the regular season,” VanBibber said. “They’re focusing on what our goals are, and in order to meet those goals, we have to be able to compete and grow every single day.”
“We have to stay healthy while playing this game,” he added. “And we have to continue to grow. We’re into the last month and we have a pretty tough May schedule, which we’re good with. We just have to make sure we’re staying focused on what we’re supposed to be doing.”
Matthews said the road to postseason success starts with the mental aspect.
“We have to keep our confidence up,” Matthews said. “If we do that, and continue to work hard, I think we can really be successful.”
Steele agreed, but added that more pieces have to fall in place for the puzzle to be complete.
“I feel like we all need to work on our defense to give Josey more of a backup,” Steele said. “If we want to win in the postseason, that’s what we have to do. She pitches amazingly, but when they get hits, we can’t slack off as a defense. So that’s the focus.”
Kegley recently passed 400 career strikeouts. The Musketeers hold a 16-3 record as of April 30.
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Greenup County has been masterfully putting the puzzle together this season as the Musketeers eye postseason glory.
The centerpiece of their puzzle is pitcher Josey Kegley, who has an ERA of just .47 across 88.2 innings pitched in 15 games. The sophomore has collected 14 wins, one save, and 172 strikeouts at the close of April.
However, as important as dominance in the circle can be, there are plenty of pieces placed around the pitching every time a Musketeer comes to the plate.
Greenup County has excelled at producing offense this season, with an array of hitters who have been a perfect complement to Kegley’s stifling pitching.
“It’s really all about having the right approach,” Greenup County coach Deven VanBibber said. “They know what they’re doing at the plate and have the right idea every single pitch.”
Those “ideas” have led to the Musketeers outscoring their opponents this year, 161 runs to just 35. That averages out to a final score of 8.47-1.8 in favor of Greenup County, as the calendar turns to May.
The team boasts nine players with batting averages above .300, including three that exceed .410.
“We attack every single pitch,” VanBibber said. “That’s our motto, it’s the next-pitch mentality. Whether we’re up or down, we’re attacking the next pitch regardless.”
Two prominent pieces of the hitting performance this season are juniors Maddy Steele and Laela Matthews.
Steele leads the team in hits this season with 30 and has a team-high average of .517 at the plate.
“I’ve just been focused on hitting through the fence,” Steele said. “It’s just about hitting line drives and knocking on the top of the fence.”
Matthews carries an average of .352, has the second most home runs this season with five and has batted in 18 runs on 19 hits.
“We’ve spent a lot of time working hard to get where we are with our hitting,” Matthews said. “We had a big loss with Skyler (Lawrence) and Kennedy (McCoy) gone from last year, so I’m surprised at how well we’ve hit the ball this year.”
The presence of Kegley in the circle goes hand in hand with the hitting and gives the batters a little confidence boost, knowing that the other team is going to have a tough time producing at the plate.
“Josey’s throwing great, so that has to help with it,” VanBibber said. “Having confidence is a huge part of it, and then also knowing what you want to do with the ball when you’re at the plate.”
Kegley’s success takes a little weight off Steele’s shoulders at the plate.
“For me, when I go up to the plate, I know I don’t have to worry about it,” Steele said. “Even if I don’t get a hit, I know Josey’s going to come out and I can just work on the next at bat.”
“I feel like we can just have as many chances as we want with Josey pitching,” Matthews added. “And that’s huge because I feel like anybody in the lineup can hit the ball really well.”
Greenup County’s roster consists of relatively younger players, with a pair of juniors and a lone senior in Madison Ross, making up the more seasoned players.
The dynamic has created leaders across age groups on the team, with Matthews and Steele chief among them.
“I feel like we have five leaders on the team,” VanBibber said. “You have Madison, our senior. You have Laela and Maddy, the juniors. and then there’s Josey and Adrian (Wells), two sophomores who have played a lot of ball for us. For all of them, there are just times when they can really get the point across that we need. There’s times when things coaches can’t say that players take care of, and they do a great job of that.”
For Matthews, being a leader is easier because of how receptive her teammates are to any sort of constructive criticism.
“There’s a lot of people always helping each other,” Matthews said. “Nobody gets mad at each other. It’s always positive feedback and nobody gets mad if you get that feedback.”
Steele sees the leadership role as helping to form a family-like bond with her teammates.
“We really try to keep us all together,” Steele said. “Everyone likes to split into groups, but we really just try to get in one big group so we can all just be a family.”
The season’s success at the plate has been a constant since the first game of the year as the Musketeers hit the ground running.
“We don’t get very many days off,” Matthews said. “And when we do, we still work by ourselves to get better. Everybody on this team wants to get better and show what we can do.”
Steele said that patience at the plate has been a large part of that work.
“We’re up there waiting for that pitch,” Steele said. “There’s a lot of cheers from the dugout, but we’re telling each other all the time, ‘Wait for your pitch. It’s gotta be your pitch, and if it isn’t, don’t swing.’”
The hard work is seen as an investment, where the real payoff will come in the postseason. So as the bats keep swinging for the Musketeers, and their record keeps stacking wins, VanBibber says the team’s goals are set farther down the road.
“Our goal isn’t really the regular season,” VanBibber said. “They’re focusing on what our goals are, and in order to meet those goals, we have to be able to compete and grow every single day.”
“We have to stay healthy while playing this game,” he added. “And we have to continue to grow. We’re into the last month and we have a pretty tough May schedule, which we’re good with. We just have to make sure we’re staying focused on what we’re supposed to be doing.”
Matthews said the road to postseason success starts with the mental aspect.
“We have to keep our confidence up,” Matthews said. “If we do that, and continue to work hard, I think we can really be successful.”
Steele agreed, but added that more pieces have to fall in place for the puzzle to be complete.
“I feel like we all need to work on our defense to give Josey more of a backup,” Steele said. “If we want to win in the postseason, that’s what we have to do. She pitches amazingly, but when they get hits, we can’t slack off as a defense. So that’s the focus.”
Kegley recently passed 400 career strikeouts. The Musketeers hold a 16-3 record as of April 30.
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