By Jayden Mies
Freelance Reporter
Special to the Tribune
With the last quarter of the school year starting, the 2025 softball season has just gotten underway for the Pratt High School softball team. The Lady Greenbacks, who have a team with players of mixed experience levels, have played two doubleheaders thus far against tough opponents in Halstead and Great Bend.
First, the Lady Greenbacks officially kicked off their season on Thursday, April 3 when they traveled to Halstead to face off against the Blue Dragons. The Lady Greenbacks, who have several new varsity starters this year, knew this would be a tough matchup. Last season, the Blue Dragons were one of the few teams to hand a loss in the regular season to Pratt.
In the first game, it was a pitcher’s dual throughout all seven innings. Savannah Copus threw six solid innings for Pratt, giving up one run on three hits. She also collected six strikeouts while only walking two. Unfortunately, the team was unable to get the bats going, as they were only able to tally one hit, which was from Mica Stapleton. Pratt lost the first game of the year by a final score of 0-1.
However, the second game proved to be a better one offensively. The Blue Dragons came out hot in the first inning, putting up five on the Lady Greenbacks. Halstead continued to hold the lead, which was 7-3 at the end of the fifth inning. Pratt didn’t give up, however, as they ended up scoring three more runs in the top of the seventh inning. They came up just short in this game too, losing by a final score of 6-7.
The Lady Greenbacks racked up nine hits in this game, which was significantly better than their first outing. Nearly every starter collected a hit for Pratt, with key ones coming from Stapleton and Taylor Creadick, who each collected a home run. Copus and Sydney Riley tallied a double each as well.
The next contest for Pratt came on the following Friday, April 4, when the team hosted the Great Bend Panthers for their first home contest of the year. Great Bend was also one of the few teams to beat Pratt last year, so this would also be a crucial doubleheader for the Lady Greenbacks.
The first game was a slugfest for both teams. The Panthers jumped out to a 12-0 lead after three innings of play, but Pratt slowly attempted to inch their way back into the game with 11 combined runs in the next three innings. Unfortunately, Great Bend was able to hold off Pratt in the seventh, beating the Lady Greenbacks by a final score of 16-11.
Multiple players were responsible for the offensive outburst that came in this matchup. Copus and Stapleton each collected three knocks, with two of Copus’s hits being home runs. Riley also slugged a home run to give the team two more RBI’s. Other players who tallied hits were Addison Sowers, Creadick and Madilyn Bolen.
The second game was also a heartbreaker for Pratt. They began the game by coming back from a small deficit to take the lead 4-2 at the end of the fourth. Great Bend tied it in the fifth, and neither team scored through the next two innings. This meant that it would go to extras.
Neither team was willing to allow a run, and the game went until the tenth inning. Here, Great Bend put up three runs with Pratt only getting one of those back. Pratt lost by a final score of 5-7.
While this wasn’t the start the Lady Greenbacks were hoping for, they showed some promising signs against two tough opponents. The bats were beginning to get hot all the way through the order, which Pratt will hope to continue. However, the key for the team right now is to limit the runs they give up, maximizing their chances of winning.
The team will look to find its first win in their next matchup. This will be on Tuesday, April 8, when the girls will travel to Haven to face off against a tough Wildcats squad in what should be two competitive games.
