Second season begins

For the second season in a row, the weather has dictated most of the high school softball season.

That has had its fair share of effects on the Pittsburg High School softball season.

“In the 20 years that I have been here, I have never experienced two seasons like this where things have been dictated by the rain,” said PHS head coach Mary Packard. “It has been a good two years.”

But now, for the Dragons, the second season begins today with the opening of the Class 5A softball regional tournament as PHS (10-8) — the No. 2-seed — hosts No. 7 seeded Gardner Edgerton (4-16) at 4:30 p.m. at Cheryl Stice Field.

That leaves PHS with a home-field advantage throughout the regional tournament.

“It is great to be home and that is an advantage,” Packard said. “The kids are talking about how pumped and excited about it.”

While the Dragons may not have an in-depth scouting report on Gardner, Packard said that she knows exactly what they will bring to the field.

“I know their coach (Darci Snyder) and she is very tenacious and a hard coach,” Packard said. “She is going to have them very sound.

“It is a top quality team and that is what we have to be prepared for mentally.”

For the Dragons, the emotions from last year’s loss to Girard in the championship of the Class 4A regional tourmament still lingers over the heads of players and Packard.

“I know that they have not forgotten about the game against Girard,” Packard said. “Several times this season, it has come up and we have started slow and we cannot do that.

“There is no warmup time because we don’t want to get behind,” Packard said. “We use that Girard game as an example and I think they realize that.”

As for momentum, the Dragons are a week removed from a tough regular-season ending split with Labette County.

“It was a tough split, in fact we have done a lot of splitting and that does not sit well with me,” Packard said. “We tried to really drive it home to take care of the ball and make plays and hit the cutoff ... kids are going to make errors but now we have to forge ahead.”

To forge ahead, Packard said that it will also come down to hitting up and down the Dragons’ lineup.

“We need the whole batting lineup to hit,” Packard said. “It seems like we have the top of the lineup come and hit and now we need the bottom of the lineup get those hits and generate those RBIs.”

On the mound, Packard will send out Danielle Lair to face Gardner Edgerton.

“She has been on a pretty good run over the last few weeks and leave Megan (Nance) as a backup,” Packard said.

If the Dragons will, they will take on the winner of the 3 p.m. game between No. 3 Bishop Miege (9-10) vs. Mill Valley (7-11) in the championship game at 6:30 p.m.

Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140.