Wolves ready to run

WINFIELD - Of all the area summer sports teams getting ready to start their 2020 season, the Winfield-Mt. Union softball team might be the one with the most hype. The Wolves are coming off a big year in 2019 and are one of the favorites in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference's North Division. W-MU finished the 2019 season 18-9 overall and 11-5 in league play.

W-MU returns the vast majority of players from last season. Their one loss from the starting defensive lineup was shortstop Liana Sweezer, who graduated last spring. W-MU also loses designated hitter Naya Silva, who started 14 of the team's 26 games, but they will have the majority of the squad back in 2020.

'Our defense shoul dbe one of the strengths, with most of the girls coming back from last year, led by All-state pitcher Madie Anderson,” head coach Walt Jackson says. 'Timely hitting will be our greatest opportunity this year.”

Anderson was one of the most dominant pitchers in the entire state last year, She finished the year with a 17-8 record, a 1.84 earned run average, and 290 strikeouts, which put her in the top 10 in the state. As a team, W-MU had 292 strikeouts, making Anderson accountable for all but two.

The Wolves bring back their top four run producers from last season. Anna Anderson led the squad with 22 RBIs. Molly Miller had 14. Madie Anderson knocked in 13, and Carlee Sloan had 10.

W-MU also returns leading hitter Keetyn Townsley, who had a .349 batting average and 30 hits last season. She is one of five players to return with a batting average above .250, joined by both Anna and Madie Anderson, Miller and Kyndal Townsley, who saw her season come to an end with an injury last year.

The Wolves finished third in the SEISC North Division last year, one game behind second-place, and one game above fourth-place Wapello. The favorite again this year is Louisa-Muscatine, a squad that won the conference and made it all the way to the Class 3A state championship last year, before losing out to Davenport Assumption.

'I think L&M will still be at the top of our conference,” Coach Jackson says. 'The next top two-to-six (spots) should be a tight race between W-MU, Highland, Wapello, Pekin and Lone Tree. Columbus, Iowa Mennonite nad Mediapolis should not be taken lightly.”

The Wolves will take the field for the first time on Monday, June 15, when they host defending conference champion and second-ranked Louisa-Muscatine. That game has a start time of 7 p.m.