The Montgomery County softball team has reached the halfway point of its season and is off to another strong start.

The Wildcats improved to 13-1 after going 3-1 at the Take The Lake Softball Tournament, which was played on Sept. 12-13 at Ballparks National in Macks Creek, just outside the Lake of the Ozarks. They scored in double digits in eight of those victories.

MCHS has 12 games and a tournament remaining in its schedule. The Wildcats bumped their record to 14-1 after a 10-0 win over Bowling Green on Sept. 16. They have a home game against Clopton on Thursday.

A year ago, the Wildcats went 1-3 in their first appearance at the Take The Lake Tournament, beating Kirkwood and losing to Nevada, St. Elizabeth and Northwest. This year, MCHS outscored its opponents 37-14 and scored in double digits in three of its wins.

The Wildcats began tournament play on Sept. 12 with an 8-0 loss to Linn, which finished fourth in the Class 2 state tournament in each of the last two years.

MCHS bounced back with a victory over Smith-Cotton on Sept. 12 and wins over Fulton and South Callaway the next day. The Wildcats beat Smith-Cotton 15-1, Fulton 12-2 and South Callaway 10-3. They will South Callaway again in the MCHS Cluster on Sept. 27.

Junior Samantha Turner was the Wildcats’ hitting star in the tournament, going 10 for 15 with a home run and nine RBIs. She's hitting .404 for the season.

Turner went 4 for 4 with two doubles and two singles and three RBIs against Smith-Cotton. She helped the Wildcats beat the Tigers in five innings.
The next day, Turner finished with another four-hit performance in the Wildcats’ five-inning win over Fulton. One of those hits was a home run in the fifth, her first of the season. She also drove in five RBIs.

Junior Reese Hill had six hits and six RBIs and picked up wins in the circle against Fulton and South Callaway. She had a pair of two-hit performances against Linn and South Callaway. She hit her second home run of the season against South Callaway.

Hill is the Wildcats' leading hitter with a .640 batting average.

Junior Jillian Weekley improved to 4-0 in the circle by picking up wins over Smith-Cotton and South Callaway.

Weekley, junior Anna Klekamp and senior Gracie Cobb each had five hits in the tournament.

The Wildcats won their first 10 games before the loss to Linn. Last year, they stormed to a 7-0 start before playing in the Take the Lake tournament.

MCHS was one of 28 teams that competed in the Take The Lake tournament. The Wildcats were also one of six Class 2 squads that participated.

MCHS played in its third tournament of the season. The Wildcats began their season on Aug. 30 by winning the MCHS Fall Classic. The next week, they came out on top in the Monroe City Tournament for the third year in a row. Their next tournament will be the South Callaway Tournament on Oct. 4.

MCHS is 4-0 in Eastern Missouri Conference play.