The first KCII Area Softball Game of the Week takes center stage in Wayland tonight when the Highland Huskies travel to take on the WACO Warriors.

Highland readies themselves for the 2025 campaign after a strong 2024 season that saw the program complete a 19-9 overall and 12-3 conference record to finish runner-up in the Superconference North. One of their strengths was at the plate, with 225 runs on 229 hits, a .326 average, .418 OBP and .465 slug. In the circle, Highland will be replacing Grace Prybil, who pitched over 65% of their innings. Junior Adisyn Prottsman will look to fill that void. Prottsman faced 136 batters last season, allowing 19 runs on 25 hits, a .184 opponent average, 2.25 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. As a staff, Highland allowed 66 runs on 130 hits, a .208 opponent average, 1.86 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. Along with Prybil, the Huskies are also replacing their top two hitters in average and slug in Payton Brun and Sarah Burton, as well as catcher Madison Beeson, Courtney Chalupa, Abigail Pierson and Meleah Fesler. Highland head coach Carrie Wieland says that while her team is going to have many new pieces, she is confident in her team’s ability to have immediate success.

“We have a lot of new kids this year and I think that the drive will be there,” Wieland said. “Everybody’s going to have a new role and we’re all just kind of starting over, so it’ll be kind of fun.”

The WACO Warriors return in 2025 after completing their first solo season as a program since 2016. WACO went winless on the 2024 campaign. At the plate, the Warriors scored 32 runs on 48 hits, with a .206 average, .288 OBP and .279 slug. Having only lost one senior through graduation, WACO returns the top three in batting average in sophomores Madison Miller, Natalie Wagler and Carlee Lunsford. Miller averaged .375, while Wagler and Lunsford followed at .324 and .235, respectively. WACO also is faced with having to replace their starting pitcher in Rhiannon Horn. Horn led the Warriors to allowing 240 runs on 123 hits, a .295 opponent average, 7.09 ERA and 4.31 WHIP. The Warriors do return sophomores Mei Leichty and Drew Graber that both got time in the circle last season. The leader of the pair was Graber, who allowed 84 runs on 34 hits, a .207 opponent average, 9.00 ERA and 4.61 WHIP. WACO co-head coaches Dominique Tolle and Michelle Wade tell KCII Sports that they both share common goals for their team’s 2025 season.

“Obviously one of the big goals is to get a win, but then be more consistent in the field,” Tolle and Wade said. “Being more competitive in games in the sense of two more innings since we often would get down. Just extending some more innings.”

In the Varsity Bound era, Highland leads the all-time series with WACO 14-1 dating back to 2009 and have taken the last 13 in the series.

You can hear tonight’s softball matchup between Highland and WACO streaming online at KCIIRadio.com on the KCII3 Stream and on the new KCII3 App, beginning with pregame coverage at 6:30, and first pitch between the Huskies and Warriors to follow at 7 from WACO High School.