Minutes before her Montgomery County softball team was getting ready to play Elsberry at Kiwanis Fields on Oct. 4, coach Audra Heimer was heading to home plate to have a pregame meeting with the umpires when she got a huge surprise.

Heimer was honored for picking up her 100th victory as MCHS coach three days before at the La Plata Tournament. She received a wooden plaque that was signed by all of her players.

“I didn’t know that was happening,” Heimer said. “They hid that from me very well. So I was very surprised. That was very nice.”

Heimer, who took over the MCHS softball program in 2015, picked up her 100th win after the Wildcats came from behind to knock off La Plata 7-6 in a consolation semifinal game of the La Plata Tournament on Oct. 1.

“Sometimes I’m like, ‘I don’t know if that is as big of a deal.’ But 100 wins are a lot when you think about it,” Heimer said. “It was fun. I was glad for the girls to win.”

Heimer’s milestone was special for seniors Carissa Doyle and Maddie Wisdom, who played with the Wildcats all four years. Doyle and Wisdom – along with first-year player Ky Rulo-Townsend – were honored after MCHS’ regular season home finale against Owensville on Oct. 6.

“Softball wise, we have grown so much because of her,” Wisdom said.

Doyle said Heimer was helpful ever since she first met her during middle school.

“Even when I was in middle school, she would coach me a lot,” Doyle said. “She was an art teacher, but she would still talk softball to me. So I felt like I always had her as a coach.”

Heimer worked as an assistant under Trent Crenshaw for two years before she was promoted to head coach in 2015. In her first game as head coach, the Wildcats cruised to a 12-1 win over Hermann in five innings on the road. They went on to win a school-record 17 games.

“It seems like so long ago,” Heimer said. “Actually, it doesn’t feel like I’ve been here eight years, so that’s kind of crazy. I’ve been here (teaching) for 10 years, but it doesn’t feel like I’ve been the head coach for eight years. It doesn’t seem like I should have that many wins, but it was really fun. It was really good to get that first one. The 100th one was pretty fun, too.”

Against La Plata, the Wildcats came back from a 6-2 deficit to help Heimer celebrate her 100th victory. They scored four runs in the fifth and one in the sixth.

“In the last inning, time was expiring and we were the home team, so we had to go out there and hold them,” Heimer said. “(Junior pitcher) Maddy (Queathem) pitched three ground balls to herself. Maddy took control and ended the game. So it was nice to see them finish a game when they had a lead and be able to control it like that.”

Heimer picked up her 101st victory on Oct. 6 after the Wildcats beat Owensville 15-13 in their regular season finale at Kiwanis Fields. MCHS took a 7-18 record into its Class 2, District 4 quarterfinal game against Metro on Oct. 11 at Valley Park.

During Heimer’s tenure, the Wildcats finished with five winning seasons and captured a district title in 2018. She also worked with outstanding players such as Brooklynn Fischer, Jordan Fischer, Sam Queathem, Ashley Queathem, Corryn Hill and Anna Ford.

“She’s a really good coach,” Doyle said.

Heimer, a Palmyra graduate, credits her old high school softball coach, Brian Wosman, for her successful tenure with the Wildcats.

“He’s probably my favorite coach of all time,” said Heimer, who is 101-82 as MCHS coach. “I learned a lot from him. He was a good role model when I was in high school. I can call him anytime I need to and talk about things.”