The Monterey High School Lady Wildcats are making final preparations for their run at a District 5 2A softball championship. The Lady Wildcats, one of the better teams in the region, are taking extra swings in the batting cage, staying longer to field ground balls, and looking over every scouting report they can find on their district opponents.
That hard work and dedication gives Monterey a lot of confidence heading into the tournament. Another good reason the Lady Wildcats are confident is the play of senior pitcher Ali Novak. The hard-throwing right-hander can claim almost every MHS victory, while nearing [458] 500 career strikeouts, a Monterey school record.
“I feel like having eight seniors on the team has helped us a lot,” Novak said. “And also, our defense has really stepped up this year and I’m just very thankful because it can be very stressful with me on the mound. But when I enter the field, all that stress leaves my body because I know my defense has me 110% of the time.
“And our offense this year has been amazing. The girls have really put in that extra time to get better. I am just so thankful for all the girls on the team. I feel like that’s why we have really accomplished a lot this year.”
Besides Monterey, the district softball tournament will include York, Smith County, Watertown and Jackson County. The tournament, which will be played at Watertown High School, will open May 3 with Monterey battling Smith County at 4 p.m. Watertown will battle either York or Jackson County at 6 p.m. The semifinals will be May 6-7 with the title game set for May 8 at 5 p.m.
Novak, the daughter of Ben and Lindsey Novak, got into sports through her parents. Ali has played just about every sport and has been a three-sport standout – volleyball, basketball and softball – since arriving at Monterey High School.
“It’s been a lot of fun and I enjoy playing all the different sports,” Ali said. “I trust myself with academics, so I just use volleyball to get in shape for basketball, and use basketball to get in shape for softball. Softball is my favorite.”
With Ali’s background in the sport, she’s looked upon as a leader on the MHS team. That role is something she doesn’t mind.
“I am happy to be one of the leaders on the team,” said Ali. “If a girl is having trouble, they can come to me and I can help talk them through it, get that negativity out of their head. I lead obviously through action because if you give a positive action it will uplift them and give them a positive note. “
And that support often reaches out onto the diamond. Novak looks to help put her teammates in the right position.
Novak’s pitching arsenal is wide. She said she has the ability to throw numerous pitches, including rise ball, screwball, drop ball, and drop curve.
“I’m gonna make mistakes, that’s just part of it,” Novak said. “I may suddenly lean forward or I won’t keep my arm tight to my body. It happens.”
And for her team to have a real chance at winning the district crown, she said she’s got to step up.
“I feel like if I just go out there and pitch a heck of a game, my defense is a 110%, we’ve got a chance,” she said. “Hopefully we hit the heck out of it.”
Despite having the ability to play softball in college, Novak said she’s going to just be a student when she begins studying speech and language pathology at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville.
Right now, Novak wants to concentrate on the district tournament. She realizes her time with MHS is winding down.
She is also hoping to pick up some more strikeouts, while keeping Monterey’s season alive.
“I love softball, but I love kids a lot more. So like I really want to help kids with speech impediments or other things in their lives they may need help with. I just want to make a positive change into their lives. For me, that would be awesome.”