2024 Sauk Valley Media softball Coach of the Year: Bureau Valley’s David Shepard

The Bureau Valley High School softball team, seeded seventh heading into the postseason in Class 2A, went on to win its first regional title since 2006 this past spring.

It was not a surprise to first-year head coach David Shepard.

“I was very blessed to have girls that were willing to do what I asked them to do,” he said. “The biggest thing I preach is that we are winners, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

It wasn’t always pretty, but a winning attitude led to winning results for the Storm. That started with Shepard, this year’s Sauk Valley Media softball Coach of the Year. Bureau Valley and Chicago Latin were the only seven seeds (no one was lower) to win a regional title in 2A this spring.

The team’s mettle was tested in its postseason opener as the Storm trailed 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning to eighth-seeded Erie-Prophetstown in the regional play-in game. The Storm split with E-P in the regular season.

Shepard’s guidance helped them overcome the deficit.

“I told them from day one, if we score five runs, we have the best pitchers and we will win every game,” he recalled of that pivotal postseason moment. “I said to everybody, look at the scoreboard, what’s the score (5-0)?

“I’m not asking for anything special, just five runs. That’s it. Give me those runs.”

The Storm obliged.

After two leadoff walks and a single from Emma Stull that led to two runs scoring, Lesleigh Maynard singled and Kadyn Haage cleared the bases with a three-run triple to tie the game at five.

Maddie Smith, BV’s workhorse pitcher this season and a more-than-capable hitter, hit the walkoff RBI single to score Sadie Bailey that won the game, 6-5.

Smith pitched her first of three postseason complete games in the win over E-P, striking out 13 and allowing only one earned one as the Storm overcame a number of errors to win the game.

Then, against second-seeded Morrison, Smith struck out 10 in seven four-hit innings in a 4-1 win to advance to the regional final.

Smith, Haage, and Emily Wright had RBIs in the win.

Shepard said the team is confident with a lead. It led 3-1 after two innings and had only one error in the win.

Following the victory, the Storm still needed to get by its biggest rival, third-seeded Princeton, if its wanted to win the program’s first regional title in 18 years. The Tigers swept BV in the regular season, rolling to scores of 10-3 and 18-5.

As the old adage goes, it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season.

Bureau Valley won 6-5 in a back and forth contest in which the Tigers had 14 hits. It was just second regional title for the softball team.

Smith had nine strikeouts and one walk in the complete game, also knocking in one run. Stull had a solo home run, Bailey knocked in another run and Wright had two more RBIs as BV had 10 hits and no errors defensively.

“We believed we could win the regional,” Shepard said. “I think it was amazing for them and amazing for the school.

“It sent a message that, hey, we can do this and we’re capable of doing this.”

Shepard said all of the team’s losses were to good teams.

Their postseason run ended in the sectional semifinals in a 12-0 loss to North Boone, which went on to the state finals before falling 1-0 to Carterville in the 2A state title game.

BV also lost only 4-3 in eight innings to 2A powerhouse Rockridge, which finished third at the state tournament, in April. BV went 0-4 against second-place Princeton and third-place Newman, but the Storm swept Three Rivers East champion Kewanee for the Boilermakers’ only two losses in conference play. Three of those losses came during prom week.

Shepard knew the team was back on track after a tight 1-0 loss to Morrison on April 30.

“That’s when I realized they were back and focused, and we were going to do good things,” he said, “and basically we did.”

Bureau Valley is leaving the TRAC to join the Lincoln Trail Conference next year, but Shepard said Kewanee still wants to play his team because they are a quality opponent.

Shepard got his first win in the second game of the season on March 16, a 2-1 win over Putnam County in BV’s home debut. It followed a 4-3 loss in eight innings to open the season against Princeville, a game in which four BV runners were thrown out at home plate.

Shepard took over the team this season after Greg Sayler resigned. He said Sayler left the team in great standing. Shepard is assisted by Chris Maynard, Jim Nugent, and Abby Shipp. All three have had important roles under the first-year head coach.

The Storm had three all-state selections this season in Maynard, Smith, and Wright. Maynard was a first-team all-TRAC selection along with senior Olivia Eckberg as a utility player after she played first base and outfield. Eckberg broke her finger against Rockridge but continued to pinch run.

BV also had six second-team all-TRAC East selections, including Smith, fellow pitcher Carly Reglin, Wright, Sadie Bailey, Emma Stabler, and Katelyn Stoller. Haage was honorable mention.

“Next year there will be more pressure on them to succeed more,” Shepard said. “I’ve got to make sure that we do our best.

“I want all my girls to be great student athletes. That’s number one. But we’ve got to win.”

Shepard is grateful for the support he’s had from his family, the school administration, and his job away from the school. He’s had the fortune to coach his daughter and son at Bureau Valley over his few decades of coaching involvement and has also reffed boys and girls basketball.

Shepard is excited to continue his role as head coach after assisting in recent years and coaching off and on in previous years. He was also promoted from assistant to head coach of the junior high team, which should hopefully help the program’s overall cohesiveness.

“If you love it, it’s not a job,” Shepard said. “That’s pretty much what I’ve gotten to do.”