The progress hasn't shown itself in the form of wins thus far, but for softball coach Melissa Wible, that doesn't mean her team isn't getting better.

After tough losses to Paola (12-1 and 11-1) and Wellsville, Wible is most encouraged by her team's performance against Wellsville.

De Soto fell to Wellsville in the first game of the doubleheader 5-3, before securing a

1-0 lead in the second game only to be rained out in the second inning.

"We definitely competed with Wellsville," she said. "We had baserunners in scoring position and the opportunity to win, but we just had some baserunning mistakes, and we focused on that in practice afterwards. Each game we're focusing on things to practice, and hopefully we'll see improvements in the next game."

Wellsville and De Soto were knotted at two runs apiece in the top of the sixth inning with a Wellsville runner on third base and two outs. Jessica Pennington then struck out a batter for the third out, but the ball got away from the catcher and the batter reached first safely. In the meantime, while the ball was thrown to first, the go-ahead run scored and Wellsville led 3-2. After a base hit up the middle moved the runners to first and second, Jordin Burford made a diving catch on a popup to retire the side.

A couple of defensive lapses in the top of the seventh cost De Soto a couple of insurance runs. Pennington gave up a walk to lead off the inning, then retired the next batter on a bunted ball back to the pitcher's rubber. A passed ball advanced the runner to third before Wellsville managed its first hit of the inning for a 4-2 lead. Pennington made another out on the ensuing batter with a 1-3 putout before another base knock scored the final run of the game.

After the Wellsville game, Wible said she saw improvements on the base paths against Paola, like her players weren't running into as many outs.

The team did, however, struggle at times to get those base runners on in the firstplace. The first game ended in a run-rule after De Soto failed to score two runs down by 11 in the fifth inning.

"The first game, we were getting killed by these little dinks," Wible said. "They are a good hitting team, obviously."

The second game went the distance, but the outcome was nearly the same.

"She was pitching pretty good," Burford said of the second pitcher. "I just don't think our confidence is up to the level that we needed it. But we're improving, we're hitting pretty good, and we're doing better fielding-wise, too."

The Wildcats' next opponent is Central Heights. That doubleheader will be played starting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at De Soto's home field.

De Soto managed a split against Central Heights last year, and Wible hopes to compete with them again this year.

"I think we're going to compete with Central Heights," she said. "We competed with Wellsville, and we competed with Spring Hill, so hopefully we can compete with some of them coming up."

After tough losses to Paola (12-1 and 11-1) and Wellsville, Wible is most encouraged by her team's performance against Wellsville.

De Soto fell to Wellsville in the first game of the doubleheader 5-3, before securing a

1-0 lead in the second game only to be rained out in the second inning.

"We definitely competed with Wellsville," she said. "We had baserunners in scoring position and the opportunity to win, but we just had some baserunning mistakes, and we focused on that in practice afterwards. Each game we're focusing on things to practice, and hopefully we'll see improvements in the next game."

Wellsville and De Soto were knotted at two runs apiece in the top of the sixth inning with a Wellsville runner on third base and two outs. Jessica Pennington then struck out a batter for the third out, but the ball got away from the catcher and the batter reached first safely. In the meantime, while the ball was thrown to first, the go-ahead run scored and Wellsville led 3-2. After a base hit up the middle moved the runners to first and second, Jordin Burford made a diving catch on a popup to retire the side.

A couple of defensive lapses in the top of the seventh cost De Soto a couple of insurance runs. Pennington gave up a walk to lead off the inning, then retired the next batter on a bunted ball back to the pitcher's rubber. A passed ball advanced the runner to third before Wellsville managed its first hit of the inning for a 4-2 lead. Pennington made another out on the ensuing batter with a 1-3 putout before another base knock scored the final run of the game.

After the Wellsville game, Wible said she saw improvements on the base paths against Paola, like her players weren't running into as many outs.

The team did, however, struggle at times to get those base runners on in the firstplace. The first game ended in a run-rule after De Soto failed to score two runs down by 11 in the fifth inning.

"The first game, we were getting killed by these little dinks," Wible said. "They are a good hitting team, obviously."

The second game went the distance, but the outcome was nearly the same.

"She was pitching pretty good," Burford said of the second pitcher. "I just don't think our confidence is up to the level that we needed it. But we're improving, we're hitting pretty good, and we're doing better fielding-wise, too."

The Wildcats' next opponent is Central Heights. That doubleheader will be played starting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at De Soto's home field.

De Soto managed a split against Central Heights last year, and Wible hopes to compete with them again this year.

"I think we're going to compete with Central Heights," she said. "We competed with Wellsville, and we competed with Spring Hill, so hopefully we can compete with some of them coming up."