Kelly Walsh’s Kynlee Griffith celebrates after striking out a Natrona County batter on May 9 at Crossroads Park in Casper.
At this point, the Kelly Walsh softball team is ready for anything.
After cold-weather cancellations and a record-setting snowstorm delayed their season opener by nearly a month, the Trojans are one of eight teams still standing. Kelly Walsh, the No. 2 seed out of the West, faces East No. 3 seed Gillette in the opening round of the 2023 Wyoming State High School Softball Championships on Thursday in Gillette.
Even after the season started, the team had to deal with rescheduled games, lightning delays and whatever else Mother Nature threw its way. KW head coach Clair Smith believes all of that only made the team stronger.
“These girls keep coming back,” she said. “They get knocked down but they keep getting back up.”
After opening the season with a 14-2 loss to Cody in which star pitcher Kynlee Griffith was battered for eight runs in six innings, the Trojans (15-2) won eight in a row. Then, after a 9-8 loss to the Fillies in extra innings, KW closed the regular season on a seven-game winning streak.
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“What impresses me the most is these girls keep coming together,” Smith said. “We teach these girls that we play for the team and we do things for the team. We’re all here for each other.”
Griffith, who is 7-2 with a 2.54 earned run average and 107 strikeouts, will start on the bump for the Trojans. The senior also leads KW with a .686 batting average and 25 runs batted in.
Griffith has plenty of support at the plate, though, as Kelly Walsh has a team batting average of .477. Senior catcher Olivia Smith (.646), junior outfielder Ashlynn Attaway (.596), sophomore outfielder Kayla Clair (.509) and freshman outfielder Ryleigh Sisco (.500).
Senior shortstop/pitcher Sophia Wood, who leads the team with two home runs and is 8-0 on the mound, and senior first baseman Bailey Owens (.405) also provide clutch hitting and leadership.
The Trojans will have their work cut out for them against the Camels (17-7), who won the inaugural state championship two years ago.
Avery Gray has been outstanding at the plate and on the mound for Gillette. The junior is batting .688 with four home runs and 58 RBI, and is 8-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 138 strikeouts.
“Ever since we played Cody we’ve been preparing for a faster pitcher so we’re just rolling into that,” Claire Smith said of the Trojans’ game preparation. “We have a couple drills we’ve been working on for shorter swings and we’ve been watching some film.”
Two years ago, Kelly Walsh had to battle back through the loser’s bracket after losing its opening game. The Trojans won three games in the consolation round before a 13-10 loss to Gillette left them one game short of playing for the championship.
KW would like to avoid a similar path this weekend, but Claire Smith knows the Trojans will be ready if that’s the path they have to take.
“We haven’t done anything easy this whole season,” she said. “So if it happens to go that way it’s OK.”
Win or lose, this will be the end of the high school softball road for five KW seniors.
Olivia Smith, who won an individual state wrestling championship for the Trojans this year, has mixed emotions about the weekend.
“Honestly, it’s kind of bittersweet,” she said. “I’ve been playing with a lot of these girls since I was 12, so it’s exciting but it’s sad at the same time because after this we’re kind of all going in our own direction.
“It’s going to take a lot of communication and determination. We all work really well together and I think our freshmen have seen that and they’ve really brought the level up. If we do get in a bind I think we can get out of it.”
The Trojans have demonstrated that ability all season, so there’s no reason to stop now.
Follow sports editor Jack Nowlin on Twitter @wyovarsity