Show-Me State flexes its power in sweeping all-star softball doubleheader

QUINCY — In the first Illinois vs. Missouri all-star softball showcase played in Quincy in a decade, the Show-Me State reestablished bragging rights by beating the Prairie State 11-3 and 11-5, respectively, in Wednesday’s doubleheader at the John Wood Community College field.

Trail Blazers coach Kelsey Thompson resurrected the game after a 10-year hiatus. The former Senior Softball Salute was contested from 2004 from 2015.

Highland coach Paul Scifres, who coached the Missouri side on Wednesday and also coached in the last two editions of the Senior Softball Salute, thanked Thompson and others at John Wood for getting this showcase back up and running.

“It was a blast,” Scifres said. “I’m so glad that Coach Thompson put in the time, work and diligence to bring it back because I think we’ve missed it. There have been a lot of great softball players since 2015 that missed out on this opportunity. It’s so special because Missouri doesn’t get to play Illinois. To be able to get a fun atmosphere to come out and play, it’s a blast.”

Here are some takeaways from Team Missouri’s sweep of Team Illinois.

Winter goes out with a bang

Haleigh Winter has a free drink — and maybe more — from Carter’s Coffee Bar coming her way.

The former Highland slugger, who is headed to Quincy University this fall to continue her softball career, launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning of game two in what turned out to be her final at-bat wearing a Highland uniform because the game was called after 3 ½ innings due to darkness.

In leaving the yard, Winter now has to hold John Wood assistant softball coach Sky Arcaro, who is best friends with Haleigh’s father, Jon Winter, accountable.

“He said if I hit it over the fence, he would buy me a Carter’s drink, but if I hit the scoreboard, he would pay for Carter’s for a full year,” Winter said.

She might try to swindle some more drinks from Arcaro.

“He was gone for the second game, so I might try and photoshop my home run video and try to make it look like the scoreboard was on the opposite side of the field,” Winter said.

Whether that home run results in one drink or 100, a bright smile never left Winter’s face as she rounded the bases.

“I was just glad because there were a lot of people here and a lot of people talking about me hitting a home run, so I’m just glad I didn’t let anybody down,” Winter said.

Scifres expected nothing less from the Cougars’ all-time leader in home runs.

“That’s what she’s done for so long,” Scifres said. “In big moments, she hits big shots, and she did not disappoint today. I think a lot of people were expecting her to do exactly what she did, and she didn’t let anybody down. I’m very proud of her.”

It was the perfect ending to a calendar year that also included a Class 2 state championship, which the Cougars won last November.

“I’ve definitely been blessed,” Winter said. “I’ve had an amazing year.”

McWilliams completes triple crown of all-star events

South Shelby’s Callie McWilliams has had a busy last three weeks.

The Lady Birds’ three-sport standout and State Fair Community College track and field signee took part in three different all-star events in the span of 19 days. On June 6, McWilliams participated in the Illinois vs. Missouri Senior All-Star Track Meet at Flinn Stadium in Quincy, where she won the triple jump and long jump and set personal records in both events. On June 21, McWilliams scored 10 points and had four steals for Team Missouri in the Muddy River Showcase at John Wood’s Student Activity Center.

McWilliams then completed the trifecta by playing in Wednesday’s all-star softball showcase. She went 1 for 3 with a walk and scored a run in game one before sitting out game two.

For McWilliams, it was a no-brainer to play in one last all-star game before calling it a high school career.

“I was already going to do the track and basketball one, so I was like, ‘Might as well do three. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,’” McWilliams said. “It was pretty fun.”

McWilliams would not have had it any other way.

“It’s been so fun,” McWilliams said. “I love sports, so it’s just one more time in a jersey, and getting to play with my (usual) opponents was really fun.”

Future roommates serve as battery mates

It was only fitting for the first all-star softball showcase at John Wood since 2015 to begin with two John Wood commits as the pitcher and catcher to begin the festivities.

The game started with Havana’s Hannah Hodgson in the pitcher’s circle for Team Illinois and Hodgson’s future John Wood teammate, current travel ball teammate and future roommate, Rushville-Industry’s Charlee Gerleman, behind the plate.

“It was honestly really cool just to be involved in the atmosphere and being able to throw with Charlee,” Hodgson said.

While the end result on the scoreboard was not what Hodgson or Gerleman had hoped for, having other future teammates there — several John Wood softball players helped with the operation of the showcase — made the night extra special for Gerleman.

“That was great,” Gerleman said. “We were all getting text messages about if you were working it, if you weren’t working it, and with the whole team being here, it was really great.”

Hodgson said she and Gerleman are like two peas in a pod.

“We’re pretty much the same person,” Hodgson said. “We act alike, talk alike, have the same schedules, everything.”

Given Hodgson’s description of their friendship, Gerleman’s response to how close she and Hodgson are was just as fitting as them being battery mates for this game.

“We’re like the same person,” Gerleman said. “We just literally talk the exact same way, so we have a little bit of a language. We pretty much think the same, like I’ll be thinking of a certain pitch, and she’ll call it, and we’ll be on the same page at all times because we just have that connection. We’ve been catching and pitching for each other for so long that it’s just a bond that we know where each other’s heads are at. We’re just connected like that.”

Fessler cousins share dugout for first time

BJ and Joe Fessler have had their share of battles between their respective squads on the softball diamond, but Wednesday provided them the unique opportunity to be on the same side.

BJ Fessler, the Liberty coach and head coach for Team Illinois, selected Joe Fessler, his cousin and the Payson Seymour coach, as one of his assistants for the all-star showcase.

“All through the season, he could kick ideas off me or give me some tips on teams, and I’d do the same for him,” BJ Fessler said. “Yes, we’re opponents, but we’re still family.”

Also part of BJ’s staff was Joe’s sister, Sara Reichert, who is one of BJ’s assistants at Liberty. Joe Fessler said getting to coach alongside his sister and cousin at the same time proved to be a special moment.

“I talk to them quite a bit throughout the week,” Joe Fessler said. “We throw things off each other all the time, whether it’s softball, baseball or family stuff. It was definitely cool being in the same dugout with them.”

BJ shared his cousin’s sentiment.

“We have a lot of the same philosophies, so it’s great to be able to kick ideas around,” BJ Fessler said. “Sara coaches with Joe in travel ball sometimes, and I think they’re both kind of getting out of that, so it was nice to do that once before it’s all said and done.”