The Montgomery County softball team won another Eastern Missouri Conference title on Oct. 13.

This time, the Wildcats didn’t have to share it with anyone.

With an 18-0 road win over Louisiana, MCHS finished its conference play at 10-0, making it the first time in program history it won an outright league championship. Last year, the Wildcats finished with a three-way tie for first with Elsberry and South Callaway with a 9-1 mark for their first EMO title.

After the game, all of the players were filled with joy after coach Audra Heimer showed them the EMO championship plaque.

“It’s nice to come home with some good hardware that’s ours and ours only, so that’s great,” MCHS senior Sam Turner said.

The Wildcats won the league title by one game over Silex, which finished second with a 9-1 record. MCHS began its conference season on Sept. 3 with a 4-3 win over the Owls on the road. It was the closest game the Wildcats played in conference play all year.

“Silex is a great team,” Turner said. “They’re definitely not somebody to underestimate. So, us going out there and being able to battle was really important. They were a tough team, but we came out and we put everything we had on the table and came out with the win.”

Against Louisiana, the Wildcats scored 11 in the third and seven in the fourth to win the contest that ended in the bottom of the fourth due to the 15-run rule. A year ago, MCHS clinched the EMO title by edging the Bulldogs 3-2 at Kiwanis Fields.

The Wildcats outscored their conference opponents 85-10. Their 18 runs against Louisiana marked a season high. They scored in double digits in six conference games.

“We came out and beat everybody we were supposed to beat,” Turner said. “It was good getting out there and winning it for ourselves instead of having to share it this year.”

MCHS also finished its regular season at 18-8. The Wildcats are guaranteed to finish with their fourth straight winning season.

Throughout the season, MCHS played a competitive schedule that included several teams that were Class 3 or higher such as Marshfield, Oak Park, Mexico and Southern Boone.

“We put our best foot forward and we competed against teams that were in Class 4 and 5,” Turner said. “I don’t think our record showed how good we are.”

The Wildcats lost four players to graduation, but filled that void by having freshmen Chloe Conder, Julia Elder and Avery Finke on the team.

“We have two or three freshmen on the field right now and they all stepped up and did their job,” said MCHS junior Kenley Wessel, who had two hits against Louisiana. “It’s honestly amazing how they’ve been able to do that. I’m really proud of them.”

The Wildcats had a big performance from its senior class of Turner, Reese Hill and Jillian Weekley in their lopsided win over Louisiana. The trio combined for five hits and nine RBIs.

Hill hit a two-run homer in the third and pitched a no-hitter, Turner had three hits with five RBIs and Weekley drove in a run.

All three were valuable players in the Wildcats’ EMO championship run. All of them earned first-team honors on the all-EMO team.

“I think all three of us are performing great,” Turner said. “We’re all hitting the ball really well and seeing the ball really well.”

The Wildcats’ contest against Louisiana was originally scheduled for Oct. 1, but was rescheduled to Oct. 13 due to rain.