Seniors enjoy time with softball Tigers

By Theo Tate
Posted 11/18/21

After a two-year hiatus, Brooke Reichardt came back for her senior season with the Wellsville-Middletown softball team this fall.

She can thank her senior classmate, Lexi Kemp, for …

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Seniors enjoy time with softball Tigers

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After a two-year hiatus, Brooke Reichardt came back for her senior season with the Wellsville-Middletown softball team this fall.


She can thank her senior classmate, Lexi Kemp, for that.


“Lexi made me come back because she’s my best friend,” Reichardt said. “We kind of do everything together.”


Reichardt and Kemp became best friends when they were new students at Wellsville-Middletown Junior High School in seventh grade. Reichardt and Kemp lived in Wentzville and Mexico, respectively, before moving to Wellsville.


“We moved here at the same time,” Kemp said. “I didn’t talk to anyone, so we talked to each other.”


This year, Reichardt and Kemp led a W-M softball team that returned to action after its 2020 season was cancelled because it didn’t have a full squad. They were the only seniors on the team.


“They made the sport more enjoyable for me and, I’m sure, for everyone else,” Kemp said. “They made it a good team. They made it fun.”


The Tigers lost all 17 of their games this fall. Their season ended with a loss to Community R-6 on Oct. 12 in the Class 1, District 8 tournament at Silex High School.


Both Reichardt and Kemp were outfielders. Coach Jessica Eichholz said both seniors showed great leadership throughout the season.


“I feel like they really stepped up as far as being good influences for the younger girls and showing them what we want the program to be as far as being positive, even in tough situations,” Eichholz said. “They’re always there to pick somebody up when they get down on themselves. They were really good leaders for the girls to look up to, in my opinion.”


Another senior, Kaleb Turner, was the manager of the team. Turner, Reichardt and Kemp were recognized after the Tigers’ senior day game against Montgomery County on Sept. 28. All three of them received sashes.


“It was fun,” Reichardt said. “I was upset that we didn’t win, but we tried our best and that’s all that matters.”


Reichardt, who first started playing softball in her freshman season, said she enjoyed playing with a team that had a combined nine sophomores and freshmen.


“They make everything fun,” Reichardt said. “We haven’t had many dull moments. It’s just constant laughter and constant making jokes to each other. It’s a really great time.”


Kemp has plenty of softball experience. She started playing the sport when she was 5.


“It’s something that I was really good at, so it’s something I stuck with,” said Kemp, who plans to attend community college next year. “It’s something that I learned to love. I enjoy the sport very much.”

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