'As long as we're making progress, that's all that matters': Windham softball shows growth
If 2022-23 was the year Tom VanKirk took the helm of Windham softball, 2023-24 was the season in which the reinforcements arrived.
Reinforcements that led the Bombers to their highest win total since 2019.
For years, standouts such as Ka'Neese Cunningham and Quinn Justham toiled valiantly to lift Windham out of dark days, including a one-win season.
This season, Cunningham — standing in the middle of it all, in the center of the circle — had more support than ever.
"It's a good feeling," Cunningham said. "It's like we're doing way better than we were before. As long as we're making progress, that's all that matters."
The Bombers' reinforcements came from all over.
Angelina Jones was back on the diamond for Windham for the first time since her freshman season after spending two years at Streetsboro. All Jones did was hit .341, third on the Bombers, and score a team-leading 24 runs.
"She came back and she's just bought into everything we're doing," VanKirk said. "She's been our team leader, top to bottom. She's made diving catches in the outfield. Her batting average has steadily gone up. She's taken like 14 hit-by-pitches this year. For some reason, it happens. She's just been an absolutely wonderful kid at the top and a leader, 100% leader."
Sydnie Sweet was also back, after an injury kept her out last season.
"She stepped right up into it," VanKirk said. "She's caught every single inning and she's been great. For someone who's never been really formally taught how to catch, she's an athlete."
Beyond hitting a team-leading .378, Sweet's presence at catcher allowed Windham to put Na'Zya Henderson in the outfield, solidifying its defense there.
"Having her in the outfield is definitely a big part of our team now," Cunningham said. "She used to be a catcher, but having her out there has definitely helped our team out a lot."
Two freshmen also helped mightily.
Makenzi Bryson, who bashed her first career homer in Windham's final home game Monday, hit .302, tied for the team lead with 17 RBIs and was also among the Bombers' leaders in doubles, triples and homers.
That first career homer showed off her power — as she blasted the ball to the gap — and her speed — as her legs took care of the rest.
"Well, it was pretty far," Bryson said. "It hit off the fence and my coaches are just yelling, 'Go, go, go, you got it,' and you just got to have confidence that you got it."
Fellow freshman Alexandria Hudak also paid immediate dividends for Windham, hitting .344 before sustaining an injury.
Windham's remarkable rise
Last season, VanKirk's first leading the program, the Bombers sometimes struggled to simply get nine players in uniform.
This season, the roster is up to 17.
This year, there were more talented hitters in that dugout and more capable fielders behind Cunningham.
"The last few years, we haven't really had defense really," Cunningham said. "It was just basically me trying to do the whole thing and then having some people here and there trying to do it, but this year, we have a whole bunch of defense. Everybody's participating. Everybody's doing their thing. We're actually looking like a team this year."
Pitching on a team that can barely put nine players on the field wasn't always easy for Cunningham.
There were plenty of long innings in the circle.
There were still some long innings this year. Windham is still in development mode, after all, seeking progress, not perfection.
But this year, Cunningham felt more supported than ever.
"It's basically been [coaches] Tom, Dan [Peterson] and Larry [Jones], they're like, 'Hey, you're doing fine,'" Cunningham said. "They talk to me. They explain that I'm doing fine and that it's not me. Like I have a few adjustments to make and then usually I just talk to myself or Angelina talks to me and she makes everything better."
Windham's improvement can be seen in any number of ways.
From a one-win season not long ago to six this year.
The Bombers were also far more competitive in their losses.
Windham's improvement could also be seen statistically as it had six batters (with at least 45 plate appearances) top the .300 mark.
Beyond the Bombers' win total or stats, however, VanKirk pointed to a different energy in the dugout.
"I'm proud of that more than anything, because last year, it was just there was no energy," VanKirk said. "The program was really so down there, like no one wanted to play and now they're showing up and it's not perfect, right, but they're showing up and they're working hard and it's like I get all of them all the time now. And that's how you get a program built, and so, yeah, I'm more proud of that than our win total."
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Behind reinforcements, Windham softball hits top win total since 2019
