In the Circle
Let's go "In the Circle" with Salina Ortho, Kansas Pregame's look at some top softball stories from across the state, presented by Central Kansas' largest Orthopedic's Practice, Salina Ortho.
*Just two weeks after we posted this feature on Scott City senior Cheyenne Cramer reaching the 600 career strikeout milestone, she has now recorded her 700th career strikeout in action last night against Garden City. The Beavers swept 6A Garden City in a doubleheader by scores of 10-0 and 3-0 and improved to 15-3 on the season.
Original article below:
Scott City senior Cheyenne Cramer is enjoying another brilliant season for the Beavers and last week recorded her 600th career strikeout. She didn't take her foot of the pedal this week though, pitching a perfect game in the opener of a doubleheader sweep of Goodland recording 12 strikeouts and adding 12 more strikeouts in another dominant win in Game 2. Cramer - a Labette Community College softball signee - is no slouch at the plate either. On the same day she recorded her 600th career strikeout last week she also hit a grand slam and in Tuesday's doubleheader with Gooland she recorded two home runs in Game 2 of the sweep.
The Beavers improve to 10-2 with the victories and are 6-2 in GWAC play.
Find a complete recap of the games from Western Kansas News at this link (https://www.westernkansasnews.com/2024/04/91561-rjlbje/) and check out our Spring Edition feature on Cramer below:
Scott City has two teams taking the diamond this spring after strong 2023 campaigns, and both have back excellent top end talent, which could be vital as they make the switch from 3A to 4A competition.
The Lady Beavers are coming off a 17-4 season with a second consecutive trip to the state tournament after coming out of regionals as a five seed, upsetting top-seeded Haskell County/Satanta in the second round 15-1 and a one loss Holcomb team in the championship 5-4 along the way.
Leading the way for SCHS softball in 2024 is three-time All-Stater Cheyenne Cramer.
“Last season was a good season,” Cramer said. “We made our second straight appearance at 3A state. The goal is to return to the state tournament, this year in 4A.”
Cramer’s play has been huge for the Beavers in previous seasons. Last year she batted .343 with 22 RBIs and posted a 1.78 ERA in the circle with 195 strikeouts.
As former assistant Drew Kite takes over duties from Erin Myers – who went 117-45 in nine years with the team – he looks forward to Cramer‘s impact on the squad.
“Cheyenne has been a great leader for us for the past four years,” Kite said. “She’s a great pitcher, but also a great fielder and hitter as well. She leads by example at practice, and is just an all around stand-up person.”
The senior Labette Community College softball commit passed 520 career strikeouts last season, a figure she expects to see grow significantly this year, but it all comes second to winning for Cramer.
“Going back to the state tournament is a priority,” Cramer said. “A goal that I am trying to hit personally this season is to go over 700 career strikeouts.”
Back alongside Cramer are seniors Malorie Cupp (C, All-League), Jordis Shaw (2B) and Jesarella Navarrette (3B, All-League), and sophomore Crissa Irvin (SS, All-League).
“We have a great group of senior leaders,” Kite said. “We are looking to continue our recent success.”
The Beaver baseball program, meanwhile, went 16-5 after a second round loss to regional champ Goodland ended their season.
Back from that team are five returning starters led by senior catcher and pitcher Brady Welker, who posted a school record .574 average, with 35 hits, five homers, and 21 RBI, along with a 2.00 ERA with a 6-2 record on the mound.
“Credited with being an All-State catcher, Brady can play any defensive position on the field well and makes many starts at shortstop,” head coach David Dirks said. “His freshman year he played center field and was lead off. The last couple years he has been hitting in the power spots of our lineup and playing catcher. A dominant strikeout pitcher, he is also very efficient with his pitch counts and getting ground ball outs.”
Welker earned All-State honors as a pitcher his freshman season, before receiving nods as a catcher the following two seasons. He also set the school record in batting average last season, adding to his runs scored (39) and ERA (0.29) single season records from his sophomore and freshman seasons respectively.
After finishing up this spring, Welker is set to attend Northwestern Oklahoma State University where he will continue his baseball career and study Sports Management, but he’s got other milestones he hopes to reach first.
“My goals for this year is to help build the program by helping these underclassmen get better,” Welker said. “I also want to keep chasing our school records. When I have these goals of chasing these records it gives me something to go out and work for. I am hoping for an even better season than I had last year.”
Senior Aaron Armendariz (OF, .353, 18 H, 15 RBI), juniors Eloy Ruelas (SS/P, .391, 27 H, 22 RBI) and Brooks Bailey (IF/OF, .257, 9 H, 7 RBI), and sophomore Spencer Cramer (IF, .346, 18 H, 9 RBI) all return from last year’s lineup as well, but beyond that there will be a need for new faces to step in after losing a big group to graduation.
“We have a very young group and it will be a good way to build our program,” Welker said. “We will need to make sure we are helping each other get better and help the underclassmen have the confidence when playing varsity baseball.”
And Welker’s approach is likely no surprise to his head coach.
“He has been a leader on our team since his freshman year, this year will be no different,” Dirks said. “His work ethic is great, doesn’t take a day off and has put in hundreds of hours on his own time to get to where he is at now. He has set several school records and been a major factor in our team winning 44 games in his three years as a starter. Being a team first player, he will play and hit anywhere in the lineup that would make our team more successful even if it were to impact his personal achievements.”