Bedford Mules hunting for another SEC title

TEMPERANCE - The Kicking Mules softball team is right where it expected to be at this point in the season.

Bedford High, the defending Southeastern Conference champion, is in contention to win another SEC title. The Mules are also looking like a team peaking at the right time with the postseason tournament just around the corner.

"Our whole thing is we want to win the league, but we want to get ready for the tournament," said Rick Schneider, who is in his first season as Bedford's coach.

The Mules went into the final week of the regular season with a 24-9 overall record and was at the top of the SEC Red Division with a 17-3 conference record.

Schneider arrived at Bedford with plenty to offer after he had been responsible for building a successful program at Northview in the highly competitive Northern Lakes League.

Schneider spent two decades working at Northview before leaving the Sylvania high school. Yet he wasn't quite ready to retire from coaching and jumped at the chance to fill the opening to coach the Mules.

"It was time and this was a great opportunity," Schneider said. "I live up here and it was time to come home. It's a very nice opportunity and it's a good group to work with."

Bedford's talented and experienced roster certainly made the coaching opportunity quite attractive.

Schneider's approach coming into Bedford was to emphasize utilizing the entire roster, allowing even the last players on the depth chart to see a decent amount of playing time.

Senior pitcher Summer Adams, who entered the final week of the regular season with an Earned Run Average below 1.00 (actually 0.76), is one of several returners back from a team that reached the district finals last season.

The team's pitching ace, Kallie Puterbaugh, a junior, has spent the most time on the mound this spring and owns a 1.21 ERA. Jess Werner, a sophomore, is the Mules' third pitcher and has held her own with a 2.48 ERA.

"We have three fine pitchers," Schneider said. "I'm just a big believer in developing depth because you never know when someone might blow out a knee or something. I'm confident with all 34 taking at-bats."

Chelsea Carena, a senior shortstop, has been the leading offensive player up until a week ago when she suffered a broken hand. The leadoff hitter leads the Mules with a .419 batting average and a team-leading 32 stolen. Since the injury, she has worn a cast on her injured hand and has been limited to serving as a pinch-runner.

Kim Jesse, a sophomore, has replaced Carena at the top of the batting order with a 0.287 batting average. Werner and Adams began the week ranked next highest on the team in hitting with a 0.259 batting average, respectively.

Carena believes the Mules have responded well to the coaching change. "The coaching style is different but we've been doing good," Carena said. "Practices are different. They're run differently, but we're still pretty successful."

Adams agrees the Mules haven't skipped a beat this spring.

"We have a more mature team than last year," Adams said. "There's more hustle and we've grown as a team."

Contact Donald Emmons at: demmons@theblade.com

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Rick Schneider, Bedford High's softball coach, gives a batting tip. THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON Enlarge | Photo Reprints

The Kicking Mules softball team is right where it expected to be at this point in the season. Bedford High, the defending Southeastern Conference champion, is in contention to win another SEC title.