Inductees

When the 1988 softball team of Putnam County High School took the field for its home-opener, there wasn’t a softball field at all. Instead, it was built for baseball – albeit with no outfield fence, poor lighting and limited bleachers.

In fact, it had been that way since the program’s founding in 1980.

However, the Lady Midgets eventually became one of the Show-Me State’s softball powerhouses, with an incredible run over the next 15 years. And it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the 1988-2007 era of Putnam County High School Softball with the Class of 2024.

Based in Unionville in north central Missouri – and about 10 miles from the Iowa state line – Putnam County dominated the era with 12 trips to the Final Four.

That included state championships in 1990, 1998 and 2003, and state runner-up finishes in 1989, 1992 and 1994. The team placed third in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2004. Combined, the teams were 414-82-1, with the 1990 team finishing 23-1, the 1998 team finishing 24-4 and the 2003 ending with a 22-7 record.

Max Mothersbaugh coached the teams through 1997 before Mike Schmidli took over.

And that field?

“It was that way until 1991, when (the Lady Midgets) got a new field of their own,” Mothersbaugh said. “Obviously, the success of the earlier teams was a factor in getting a new field.”

Much went into making Putnam County successful. Eddie Brundage coached summer teams for several years in the 1980s, and then the teams from 1988 started playing travel ball.

Mothersbaugh came in after having coached at North Shelby High School, where he led the boys fastpitch team for two years and the girls fastpitch team for three seasons (reaching two district title games). When he arrived to Putnam County, his daughter, Tracy, was a freshman. She became a standout pitcher, joining a talented roster. And those teams utilized their speed, running the bases aggressively. They also played stout defense.

The state championship teams were special.

In 1990, Putnam County caught fire in districts, upsetting Jefferson Conception in the quarterfinals, and then beating both Fatima and Marion C. Early 2-1 to win it all.

In 1998, because of rainy weather, the Lady Midgets had to play their final two district games, the sectional and quarterfinal in a four-day stretch. They weathered the storm, and then beat Vienna in the semifinals before Lacey Johnson fired a no-hitter in a 2-0 championship victory.

The 2003 team played without pitcher Jackie Loughead for a three-week, late-season stretch. When she returned for districts, she fired six shutouts in seven postseason games. That included 1-0 victories in the three district matchups and a 1-0 quarterfinal win. The Lady Midgets beat Lawson 3-0 in the finals. Loughead had knee surgery immediately after the season.

The state runner-up teams were oh-so-close, too. The 1989 team was the first in Putnam County to reach a state championship game and suffered a 6-0 setback. Marion C. Early (2-1) and Wright City (1-0) edged the 1992 and 1994 teams.

That said, five of Putnam County’s third-place finishers – 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2004 – all lost to the eventual state champions. The 1991 team had beaten eventual Class 4 state champion Blue Springs in the regular season. The 2004 team’s run included a 2-0, 22-inning win against Salisbury.

Certainly, the families made it a success story, and that’s remarkable considering most girls came from farm families in the surrounding communities of Hartford, Lucerne, Livonia, Omaha and Lemons.

Dan Mathes coached the 1980 and 1981 teams, and Tersa Hunsaker coached from 1982 to 1987.

Mothersbaugh’s Putnam County teams were 204-28-1, winning 10 district titles and eight conference titles to go along with nine Final Fours. He later saw his North Central Missouri College softball teams earn 503 wins, leading to his induction in that college’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

Schmidli brought in experience when he joined Mothersbaugh’s staff in 1997. Schmidli coached at North Harrison High School for nine seasons, with his 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1997 teams winning district championships, and his 1992 and 1993 teams reaching the Class 1 Final Four – with the 1993 team (19-0) winning it all.

Along the way, overall from 1988 to 2007, the Lady Midgets were 129-11 in the Tri-Rivers Conference (.921) and 48-0 in district play. They were 34-17 in the state playoffs.

As Schmidli put it, “Incredible memories that will last a lifetime.”