Rumor has it that Wayland High School softball coach Cheri Ritz is approaching 1,000 victories in her storied career.
She got one game closer Thursday evening by building her squad to 13-4 non-league victory over Coopersville in a single game rather then the customary doubleheader.
Ritz, herself a Wayland High School graduate, has amassed her many victories on the diamond over almost 40 years with Middleville Thornapple Kellogg and her alma mater. She also has coached two Wildcat outfits to state championships, in 2006 and 2015.
Wayland wasted little time in taking control Thursday afternoon against the Broncos, plating six runs in the first inning and another five in the third.Kami Morse and Reese Veltman both collected three hits to pace a 15-hit offensive assault.
Winning pitcher Harmony Laker clubbed homer and a single to account for the biggest blows. On the mound she scattered 10 hits, walked two and struck out five in going the distance of seven innings.
Wayland now has an overall record of 18-7 and is 8-0 in O-K Gold Conference play.
