By Jim Fryar
jfryar@joplinglobe.com
Walter Resa doesn’t remember starting a season with so many question marks surrounding one of his Webb City softball teams.
“We lost four of our top five hitters (from a team which won the Class 3 state championship the previous season),” Resa pointed out. “We lost a lot of leadership. Those girls had been to three Final Fours.
“Everything was new for us, going to the Central Ozark Conference ... going to Class 4. We’d always been Class 3. ... You just never know how things are going to work out.”
In this instance, the answer arrived quickly ... just fine.
Webb City won the district title and finished third in the Class 4 tournament with a 29-4 record.
They kept a unique record in the process. They’ve been to the state semifinals seven times since Resa started the program in 1994. Twice they’ve won state titles. The other times, they’ve lost to the eventual state champion.
Blue Springs, thanks to a remarkable comeback, prevailed 6-5 in nine innings in the semifinals, then waltzed through the championship the next day. Webb City recovered well, too, whipping Francis Howell Central 12-0 in the third-place game.
Resa was a solid choice as the Globe’s coach of the year.
“It was a very enjoyable year to coach,” Resa said. “The expectations weren’t very high from outside our team. People didn’t know what would take place this year ... What took place was, a lot of people stepped up.
“ We had great leadership from (senior veterans) Nicole Hudson and Kylie Jones. ... Brooklyn Ferrell, in the leadoff role. ... Lauren Jones, we won three games in a row (1-0, 2-0 and 2-0) where she had all the RBI.”
So was this Resa’s best coaching job?
“I can’t say that,” he replied.
“We have great leadership and I have probably the best assistant coach out there in Kathy Harris. I turn a lot of stuff over to her and it’s made our program jump. ... I look at her as more of an associate head coach.”
One constant for the Cardinal staff is faith in the players.
When the Cardinals went into extra innings against Carthage and ace Denise Taylor in the district championship game, Resa decided to force the issue.
After Ferrell led off with a triple, Hudson was walked. Kylie Jones bunted and when it was mishandled Webb City had a 1-0 victory.
“We were just trying to make something happen,” Resa said. “Taylor was holding us at bay. ... Because our girls have been in that situation so many times, when it comes down to execution, we believe we’re going to execute fine. If they make an out, then it’s my fault. It’s my call.”
That aggressive style has resulted in a 349-56 record over the past 15 seasons.
