C1Q3: Bernie SB continues Mule tradition - in all sports - of being successful

The Bernie High School softball team poses after recently winning the MSHSAA Class 1 District 3 Tournament over Bloomfield at Bernie High School.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

The Bernie High School softball squad will vie for an MSHSAA Class 1 Quarterfinal 3 victory today at 5:30 p.m. when the Mules (21-9-1) visit Plato (20-6), and the fact that Bernie has advanced after winning the recent MSHSAA Class 1 District 3 championship shouldn’t surprise anyone.

“The (team) has worked hard all year,” veteran Bernie coach Brad Botsch said. “I’ve seen improvement throughout the year.”

Bernie has now won 12 consecutive games after opening the year with a 9-9-1 start, which included a stretch in which Bernie lost five consecutive games.

“We are displaying a lot of confidence and growth,” Botsch continued. “That is what we expect.”

Success is what the community of Bernie expects, not just from the softball program, but from all of the Mule teams.

As for Botsch’s sport, Bernie has only had one losing season in the past 11 springs, and that was last year’s 13-14 mark.

“We just have some expectations,” Botsch said of his program, and the kids work hard, and they are coachable.”

Each season, in each sport, is a journey, but Botsch said his team has continued to be diligent, even through the aforementioned tough stretches.

“It’s a long year in any sport,” Botsch said. “Kids are not always 100 percent bought in, all of the time. But if they will stay bought in most of the time, they’ll continue to improve and that is the important thing.”

C1D3SB: Bernie rolling through opposition en route to first title in 5 years

Tom Davis

BERNIE -- As the 2024 MSHSAA softball postseason continues, it will remain to be seen as to whether there is a better softball squad in Missouri than Bernie High School, however, currently, there can not be many that are more productive offensively.

That philosophy must be a “Bernie thing,”

In baseball, the Mules didn’t win their recent District tournament, as they did a year ago. However, Bernie finished with 17 wins with a young team that just added to a stretch of (at least) 15 consecutive winning seasons.

In basketball, Bernie failed to win at least 20 games this past winter for the first time in six seasons while the volleyball program won 18 games and has now enjoyed winning seasons for 14 consecutive autumns.

“I think, honestly,” Botsch said, “athletically, we have a good group of kids. We have good parents, and through the years, we have had good administrators that support us as coaches, and a school board that supports all of it.

“When you have those things, it is a good recipe for success.”

Botsch said he and the other Mule coaches have the freedom to coach their athletes to the degree that they feel is necessary to have success.

“When you are able to do what you want to do,” Botsch said, “as far as coaching the kids, getting out here and making them work hard, and you have good parental support, and the kids are bought in, good things are going to happen.”