Semoball

As Melanie Phillips has evolved on the mound, so has Bloomfield softball

Bloomfield senior pitcher Melanie Phillips throws against Woodland on Monday in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 Tournament in Marble Hill.
Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

MARBLE HILL — As Bloomfield senior softball pitcher Melanie Phillips has grown, figuratively and literally, so has the Wildcat program.

Bloomfield won its 19th game in the past two seasons on Monday, as it got past host Woodland 2-0 in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 tournament.

What makes that number of victories remarkable is that you could have gone back over the past decade-plus and the Wildcats didn’t have 19 wins combined.

“I’ve had some athletes come in,” veteran Wildcat coach Charlotte Phillips said following her team’s latest conquest. “Melanie coming in to pitch really helped because pitching makes a big difference.”

It certainly did on Monday.

The Cardinals (9-9) were still every bit in the game to the very last out, but with Phillips in command on the mound, Woodland had nary a chance at advancing.

Phillips threw 16 first-pitch strikes, struck out 15 of the 21 Woodland outs, and 71 of her 96 pitches were strikes.

“She was really strong in moving the ball around,” coach Phillips said about her pitcher (no relation). “She had good velocity and got the ball across the plate really fast.”

What makes that last part easier to accomplish is the Phillips’ length.

At 6-feet tall, by the time she has stretched toward the plate for her release point, Phillips is on top of the hitters.

“She is very intimidating just because she is long,” coach Phillips said. “Some batters have a hard time picking up (the pitch) before it is already in the box.”

In Phillips’ first five seasons in leading the program, Bloomfield won a total of three games.

In Melanie’s freshman season, the Wildcats matched that total. But in the 2019 and 2021 seasons, the program has blossomed.

Bloomfield is 8-9 heading into today’s semifinal against District power Scott City (4:30 p.m. at Woodland).

“We have a lot of support that we really didn’t have in the beginning,” coach Phillips said. “When you said Bloomfield, nobody ever really thought about softball. We are more of a basketball and volleyball school. Finally, we are being seen. We do have athletes.”

More Wildcat players are now playing in the off-seasons, with Phillips traveling to Perryville to play for the Stars program.

Her work has paid dividends, as she is committed to play next fall at Central Baptist College in Conway, Ark.

“(Melanie) has changed from her freshman year to now,” coach Phillips said. “How she controls the ball and how she starts her windup. She used to have a whole lot of movement (and) now she is really compact.”

Woodland could manage just two hits (Chloe Goodwin and Lilley Long with one each) and only had two runners advance as far as second base.

Long wasn’t half-bad in her own right on the mound, though she took the loss.

Long threw all seven innings and gave up six hits and two earned runs.

She struck out eight Wildcat hitters and walked three.

Emilie Hancock paced Bloomfield offensively with a couple of hits, as did Abigail Brown.

Hancock scored twice, while Brown added an RBI and a walk.

Phillips helped her cause by notching a hit and driving in a run, while Mahkiya Voice also had a hit in the win.

“We need to hit the ball better,” coach Phillips said as she looked ahead to the Rams. “We need offense. Really, our defense was OK tonight. Our offense was not where I’d like it to be.”

Coach Phillips may wish for more hits against Scott City, but looking at the big picture, she (and the Wildcat followers) are thrilled with where this program is at this point.

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