The Warrenton and Wright City softball teams are both heading into round one of districts this Thursday. 

Wright City will travel to Winfield to play against No. 5 seed St. Charles West at 4 p.m. in the Class 3, District 3 tournament. Wright City received the fourth seed in the tournament. 

The Wildcats ended their regular season with a 11-17 record and a 7-4 win over Owensville in their last regular season game. Wright City endured some injuries throughout the season, but Head Coach Fred Ross noted everyone is getting healthy, which has added to their success.  

“It changes everything. We started winning and getting more competitive in games when those girls were pretty much healthy and back in there,” Ross said. 

Ross said the team will be focusing on remaining disciplined, working on fundamentals and resting before the game. 

Going into the postseason, Lorelai Kellner is hitting a .533 batting average, with 17 runs scored. The freshman has also recorded 88 strikeouts. Paige Rees has a .506 batting average, with 40 runs scored. Sadie Sehnert has 28 runs scored. Sophia Wegrzyn has hit seven home runs and Clubb has scored 15 runs after being injured for the majority of the season. 

“These girls play well and we play to our potential,” Ross said. “[A district championship] is within reach.” 

The Warriors ended their regular season with an 8-15 record. Warrenton is the No. 5 seed in the Class 4, District 5 Tournament and will play No. 4 seed Kirksville at Hannibal High School at 6:30 p.m. 

Warrenton endured a couple of injuries throughout the season that caused some displacement in positions. Catcher Paige Campbell was out for a month due to a shoulder injury. Campbell will be back for districts, but only as a base runner. 

Freshman Brylen Shoults is also back, but with some limitations as well. 

“It’s nice having the depth with Brylen and Campbell in different capacities where we can mix them in. Both are very knowledgeable players, so it’s nice having them back whether it’s your space running or even just having them in the dugout,” Head Coach Chad Berrey said. 

Despite the setbacks, Berrey is feeling optimistic and hopeful going into the district tournament. 

“We definitely ironed out a lot of wrinkles this past month. I don’t think our record shows that we are getting better defensively, but we’re feeling confident in our new positions,” Berrey said. 

Berrey also touted Kiera Daniel, Makayla Witthaus and Adee Morgan as bright spots in the team’s offense. Daniel is currently leading the team with 44 runs scored, a .581 batting average and 45 stolen bases. 

Witthaus has 27 runs scored, a .457 batting average and four home runs. Morgan has 11 runs scored and a .390 batting average. Hannah Gibson is going into the postseason with 42 strikeouts. 

“Coming into districts, our girls need to understand that it is a brand new season, nothing to this point matters,” Berrey said. “It is play ball or go home.”