Life was good for Jillian Weekley in her sophomore season with the Montgomery County softball team last fall.

From the first game of the season, Weekley was an outstanding all-around performer for the Wildcats. She finished with a career best .330 average with a home run and 15 RBIs, picked up six victories on the mound and recorded a .963 fielding percentage with just five errors on defense. She also helped the Wildcats win a school-record 22 games.

The strong efforts helped Weekley earn the biggest award of her high school softball career. She was one of four MCHS players named to the all-Eastern Missouri Conference team, earning second-team honors.

As one of 12 returning players this fall, Weekley is looking to pick up right where she left off from 2024.

“I’m very excited,” Weekley said. “Being a junior, I feel like I get to be a leader on the team. I feel like we have a really good team this year and we have a really good chance of going far and doing well.”

Weekley is playing in her third season with the MCHS softball team. She is part of a solid junior class that includes two-time all-state performer Reese Hill and all-conference performers Samantha Turner and Anna Klekamp.

Weekley plays shortstop and pitcher for the Wildcats. She played both positions at the Montgomery County Preseason Jamboree on Aug. 25 at Kiwanis Fields. She pitched against Silex and played shortstop against Community R-6.

The junior said she needs to work on her offense in order to have another outstanding season.

“I think I need to improve on my hitting a little bit,” she said. “It’s not terrible, but I struggle sometimes with those outside pitches. I don’t really like them.”

Last year, Weekley began her sophomore season with a two-hit performance against Hermann in the season opener. She took off from there, getting a pair of five-game hitting streaks, hitting her first home run against Warrenton and pitching a no-hitter against Wellsville-Middletown.

Weekley said the home run against Warrenton pitcher Paige Campbell was her biggest highlight of the 2024 season. She helped the Wildcats beat the Warriors 15-5 at Kiwanis Fields.

“It was a very good game,” Weekley said. “We played really well. Getting to hit a home run against a girl I used to play travel ball with was super cool.”

Weekley also helped the Wildcats win the La Plata Tournament by going 8 for 12 with five RBIs and six runs scored. She had four hits against South Shelby in the tournament final.

Weekley played all 29 games last year. She played 12 games at shortstop, caught nine times and pitched eight games. She filled in at catcher when Dylan Topel – who is a senior this year – was out with an injury.

“I love moving around, getting to see the field from different angles,” Weekley said. “Getting to catch last year was so cool.”

Weekley credited now-graduated Aliviah Fischer for her banner sophomore season. Fischer, who is now attending Missouri Baptist University, is a two-time all-state performer.

“Being able to play with Aliviah was one of my favorite things ever,” Weekley said. “She was one of my favorite people “

Weekley, who has been playing softball since elementary school, said playing select softball also helped. She played with the Hot Shots last year and plans to play for the Premier team this year.

“I learned so much from it and I felt like I gained so much confidence,” Weekley said. “I became a much better player all around in every aspect because of the people I met and the teams I played on.”