The Wellsville-Middletown softball team will have to wait until next year to celebrate a victory.

The Tigers’ season ended with a 15-5 loss to Marion County in six innings in a Class 1, District 4 sectional game on Oct. 16 at Community R-6 High School. They lost all 17 of their games in the 2024 season, all of them by run rule.

Despite the winless season, W-M still had reason to be thrilled. Softball returned to the school after a one-year hiatus.

“We brought softball back this year and it was really great,” W-M sophomore Elly Cash said.

The Tigers’ softball season was canceled in 2023 because they didn’t have a full roster. This year, they had 16 players, six of them were seniors, and had new coaches – Alex and Kaitlyn Thull.

“This year was the best season out of all of them,” said Aliviah Stewart, one of the seniors. “I like the girls and the coaches the most. We’re just a family.”

W-M turned in a strong effort in its district game against Marion County. Its five runs marked a season-high. Going into the contest, the Tigers scored just 12 runs in 16 games.

“We worked really hard to get here,” Cash said. “Our season wasn’t too great starting off, but we put in a lot of effort and time to be where we are and I’m really glad. We played a great game today.”

W-M, which played its first district game since the 2021 season, stormed to a 3-0 lead by scoring all of its runs in the top of the first. It rallied to tie the game at 5-5 by scoring two runs in the top of the fifth. The month before, the Tigers lost 18-0 to Marion County on the road.

“We’ve been working on batting in practice a lot,” said W-M senior Alyssa Beach, who scored two runs. “It all came together.”

Cash ignited the Tigers’ offensive surge by leading off the game with a triple to right field, W-M’s only hit in the game. She scored on an error to give her team a 1-0 lead.

“I was really surprised that I hit the triple actually,” Cash said. “When I did, I knew that we would have a run on the board and it would get everyone going, so it was really nice.”

The game ended after a Marion County batter was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the sixth.

Stewart, who made seven putouts at first base and scored two runs against Marion County, said was pleased with the way her team performed all season long even though it didn’t get a victory.

“We made a lot of growth from the beginning of the season,” the senior said. “I felt like I had the most fun playing softball this year than I did my whole high school career. I think the Thulls are great coaches and I hope they stay in the program for a long time.”

Cash, who also participates in basketball and track at W-M, said she enjoyed the experience of playing softball at the high school level for the first time.

“It was fun,” Cash said. “It was really nice getting to know the seniors and being a part of a really nice team.”