Posted: May 15, 2025
2025 Season Brings Milestone Moments for Irish Softball Program
by Rick Kindhart
The 2025 Irish Softball season brought with it a year of firsts for Springfield Catholic's youngest sports program. Not only did coach Madison Orr lead the squad to its first-ever 20-win season and first trip to the district finals, but "Season Six" also brought a bevy of individual honors, accolades and records with dozens of memorable highlights along the way.
SCHS averaged 8.8 runs per game on the year, racking up 10 or more tallies on 11 occasions (in 31 contests). The green machine also set club high-water marks for batting average (.339), hits (257), doubles (60), triples (17), home runs (18), total bases (405), slugging (.534), RBI (209), ERA (3.92), shutouts (4), pitching strikeouts (138) and fielding percentage (.894).
The 2025 campaign also featured first-time wins over regional foes Ash Grove, Marion C. Early, Marionville, Miller, New Heights Christian, Reeds Spring, Strafford and Willow Springs. En route to the district championship game, the Irish also claimed their first two district tournament wins ever by turning back Sparta and Strafford in convincing fashion.
Junior Taryn Stuhlsatz became the program's first all-state player, parlaying her .522 batting average, 11 home runs, 42 RBI and 53 runs into Class 2 second-team all-state recognition. Stuhlsatz also had 16 multiple-hit games, 11 multiple-RBI games, 103 total bases and 74assists from her shortstop position, all team records.
Stuhlsatz was one of six Lady Irish players to earn all-district distinction, one of five on the Mid-Lakes All-Conference list and one of four to earn MHSFCA all-region laurels.
Also earning first-team all-region, all-district and all-conference honors was senior Makenna Phipps. The hard-hitting first baseman shattered the club record with a .542 batting average anddrove in 40 runs while producing 14 multi-hit games and 11 multiple-RBI contests. Phipps also became the first Irish player to earn all-region honors in back-to-back seasons and earned the team's defensive MVP honors. She had separate hitting streaks of 13 and 11 games during the season and finished her career with a .379 batting average in 89 games with 91 hits, 71 RBI and 377 putouts.
Freshman pitcher Brianna Scott was the secret weapon SCHS needed to make significant strides this spring. She struck out 113 batters in 101.1 innings in the circle and compiled a 13-5 record with 17 complete games and four shutouts. Scott earned second-team all-region honors and was also a first-team all-district and all-conference honoree. In addition to team records for wins and strikeouts, her perfect game at Hollister on April 15 was a program first. Scott also batted .409 with 13 doubles, 27 RBI and a team-best 15 two-out RBI.
Standout catcher Jalyn Smith was also a first-team all-district and all-conference pick who advanced to garner second-team all-region honors in Class 2. Her breakout junior campaign saw her bat an even .400 while driving in 34 runs. Her .706 slugging percentage and 34 RBI trailed only Phipps and Stuhlsatz on the team, while her team-high 21 stolen bases marked a school record.
Center fielder Averie Keeling was also recognized on the all-conference and all-district lists for the second year in a row, earning second-team distinction on both. The junior batted .353 with a .532 on-base percentage, school-record 25 walks and 33 runs to accompany her nine stolen bases.
Also landing on the all-district roster for the second year in a row was junior Joce Luce. She earned second-team honors after batting .382 overall with a club-record 14 doubles and 18 walks. In the circle, she finished 7-6 with 13 complete games.
Among other notable highlights in the breakout campaign were:
- The Irish erasing a 9-1 deficit at Pleasant Hope on March 29 to claim a 15-10 victory and eventually win the Pleasant Hope Tournament for the second year in a row. Jalyn Smith's walk-off in the seventh inning capped the win over Miller in the Championship.
- A thrilling 8-7 home win over Strafford on April 1 saw Brianna Scott strike out eight hitters and drive in four runs in a complete-game effort. Catholic's first-ever-extra-inning win also featured a walk-off double by Smith in the eighth inning.
- Putting together a club record eight-game win streak from March 27 to April 7.
- Taryn Stuhlsatz's 10 total bases in the team's win over Strafford in the district semifinals, including two home runs. It marked her second multiple-HR game of the season with her two-run dinger in the sixth putting things out of reach to push SCHS into the district championship game.
- Brianna Scott's record-tying 11 strikeouts against New Heights Christian at the Mt. Vernon Tournament- in just her second high school start. She would later match that effort with 11 K's against Sparta on April 11 at the Forsyth Tournament.
- Behind Jocee Luce's complete-game effort in the circle, SCHS knocked off Clever, 4-3, in the semifinals of the Marionville Tournament on April 26. The squad's win over the eventual district champions included three hits from Scott and Smith with Stuhlsatz smacking the game-winning home run to break up a 3-3 tie.
- Academically, SCHS finished in the top five in the state for the fourth year in a row, boasting a 3.850 team GPA. A total of 13 players earned MHSFCS Class 2 Academic All-State distincition, including Makenna Phipps who became a four-time recipient of the sport's top academic honor.