Anna Klekamp and Sam Turner had a memorable summer of 2024.

The Montgomery County sophomores helped the NEMO Hot Shots place second at the USSSA Fast Pitch 16-and-Under National Championships on July 8-13 in Branson. Turner was chosen as the Offensive Most Valuable Player.

Their summer success has carried over into this fall with the Montgomery County softball team. Turner and Klekamp helped the Wildcats break a school record in victories and are looking to help their team clear the district hurdle.

MCHS ended its regular season at 21-6, making it the first time in program history it reached the 20-win mark. The Wildcats also earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 2, District 2 tournament, which starts on Oct. 17 and ends on Oct. 22 at Kiwanis Fields.

“I love it here,” Turner said. “These girls are energetic. They’re passionate about what they do. They want to be here and they want to win. It’s a great group of girls to have and play with.”

MCHS will play either Van-Far or Valley Park in a district semifinal game at 5 p.m. on Oct. 21. Elsberry, the No. 2 seed, will take on either Louisiana or Hermann in the other semifinal later that night. The Van-Far-Valley Park and Louisiana-Hermann quarterfinal contests are scheduled to be played on Oct. 17. The championship game is set for 6 p.m. on Oct. 22. All games will be played at Kiwanis Fields.

“I’m looking forward to it a lot,” Klekamp said. “It’s always awesome to play on the home turf with all of the home fans who come and watch. We’re hoping to get out of districts.”

The Wildcats earned the No. 1 seed in districts after finishing 4-0 against their district opponents, including a 3-2 win over Elsberry in their Eastern Missouri Conference finale on Oct. 8 at home.

“It helps us keep our morale up for districts,” Turner said. “We hope to get out and be able to produce something bigger this year.”

During the summer, Turner and Klekamp played with a Hot Shots team that was coached by John Klekamp, who is Anna’s father and coaches the MCHS football team. They finished with 30 wins and competed in 10 tournaments.

“It really helped me grow and be a better player because I get a lot more experience,” Klekamp said. “I got a lot of great teammates I get to play with like Sam. It’s really fun to get to play all year round.”

The Hot Shots finished 7-2 at nationals. They won their pool with a 2-0 record and lost their first game in bracketed play before winning five straight games en route to a trip to the title game.

Turner said she enjoyed competing with a team that had players from Van-Far, Community R-6, Bowling Green, Monroe City and Paris.

“I saw some really good girls out there, girls who worked really hard to do what they do and be able to compete,” Turner said. “Battling with them over the summer was really nice.”

This fall, Turner and Klekamp are having strong seasons at the plate. Turner is batting .450 with a home run and 15 RBIs and Klekamp is hitting .366 with 16 RBIs.

Turner missed the first 13 games due to an elbow injury, but bounced back with a 10-game hitting streak, which included a three-hit effort against Milan in the La Plata Tournament semifinals on Oct. 5.

“I definitely came back a lot stronger than I figured I would,” Turner said. “I had a really good hitting streak lately. It’s just been a lot of work to keep it up. I’ve been doing well with it.”

Turner, who plays first base, made a key out in the top of the seventh in the Wildcats’ win over Elsberry. Trailing 3-2, Elsberry was threatening to take the lead with runners on second and third with the bases loaded before its catcher Kathryn Talbot hit a bunt pop fly to Turner.

“It was definitely a lot of pressure having bases loaded with that out,” Turner said. “I made sure that I caught it and kept them where they were at.”

Klekamp, who plays center field, had an eight-game hitting streak that ended in the contest against Elsberry. Earlier in the season, she had a three-hit, three-RBI effort against Wright City.

“It’s been fun,” Klekamp said. “All of the girls keep me up when I don’t hit well.”

Turner and Klekamp are playing in their second seasons with the Wildcats this fall. Last year, they were named to the all-district team.

“It’s so fun with all of the girls and the coaches,” Klekamp said. “It’s a great environment.”