2012 Season
Henryville bows out5/22/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)Henryville’s defense coughed up seven errors in a 9-2 loss in the semifinals of the Class 2A Crawford County Sectional on Tuesday.
“When your errors are greater than your hits, that’s a problem and it’s been a problem all year,” Henryville coach Jenny Schroeder said. “We can’t compete if our defense doesn’t come to play. It’s a shame for Natalie Basham and Sarah Richey — these girls that have worked hard for four years.”
Basham took the loss for the Hornets, striking out one and walking one. Only four of the nine Paoli runs were earned.
Henryville (14-13) says farewell to Richey and Basham, who graduate this year.
Henryville downs Crawford County5/21/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)
Photos by C. E. BranhamMARENGO — After blowing a six-run lead in the seventh inning, Henryville rebounded with a run in the home eighth to down Crawford County in the opening round of the Class A Crawford County Sectional on Monday, 8-7.
With one out in what turned out to be the final inning, Sarah Richey tripled to set the table for Natalie Basham, who hit a ground ball in the hole between third and short. Richey beat the throw home on the fielder’s choice to give the Hornets the win.
Basham was the winning pitcher, going eight innings and striking out seven. Five of the six hits Henryville surrendered in the seventh inning were unearned, thanks to numerous miscues in the field.
“It was just the perfect storm,” Henryville coach Jenny Schroeder said. “We just fell apart and let them back in the game.”
Henryville (14-12) will face Paoli in the sectional semifinals today. Paoli defeated Clarksville in the other opening-round game, 8-2.
Hornets win on Senior Night5/18/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)Host Henryville defeated Austin on its Senior Night in five innings, 18-3.
Sydney Hollingsworth paced the Hornets (13-12), going 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Teammate Miranda Hopper was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Also for Henryville, Natalie Basham was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and Sierra Elifrits went 2-for-3.
Basham was the winning pitcher, giving up three runs (none earned) on five hits with three strikeouts.
“It’s nice for the seniors to go out with the win,” Hornets’ head coach Jenny Schroeder said.
Charlestown turns back Henryville5/15/2012 by Matt Koesters & Kevin Harris (The Evening News)After spotting Henryville a run in the top of the third inning, Charlestown roared back for three in the home half and held on for a 3-1 victory at home on Tuesday.
“I thought we played pretty well. It was kind of a slow game,” Charlestown coach Kevin Zollman said. “There wasn’t a whole lot of energy from either team.”
Sierra Elifrits plated Spencer Whitehouse to get the Hornets their only run. Charlestown’s runs came off of singles by Alyssa Price, Shelby Goedeker and Gracynn Jennings.
Charlestown’s Alli Webster struck out 14 Hornets in a complete-game performance. She walked three.
Dragons win tournament5/12/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)SELLERSBURG — Silver Creek (17-7) racked up victories over Austin (0-20) and Clarksville (13-9) to win the Silver Creek Invitational on Saturday.
“We played pretty well,” Silver Creek assistant coach Terry Purlee said. “We’re still making a few mistakes that we need to clean up before sectional, but we got two good pitching performances.”
Silver Creek needed just six innings to blank Austin in the opener, 10-0, before fending off Clarksville for a 7-4 victory in the championship game.
Casie Toby and Brooke Barnett each went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the tournament-clinching finale.
Ali Sparkman was 3-for-4 with a double for the Generals, the game’s only extra-base hit.
Mackenzie Bush took to the circle to down the Generals in the championship game. She struck out four, walked one and allowed three earned runs.
Hannah Heintzman was 1-1 on the day in the circle for the Generals. In the championship game, she struck out three, walked four, allowed nine hits and five earned runs.
In the opener, pitcher Audrey Jolissaint powered the Dragons to victory over the Eagles with a no-hitter, and was just a failed strikeout completion away from making it a perfect game. She struck out seven Austin batters in the contest.
Clarksville reached the championship game by coming back to defeat Henryville, 7-2. The Generals were down 2-0 through six innings, but got to the Hornets for seven runs in the top of the seventh inning.
Henryville (12-11) won the consolation game over Austin, 10-5.
Softball sectionals set5/10/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)INDIANAPOLIS — On Thursday, the IHSAA conducted its draw for the 28th annual softball state tournament series. The following is the pairings for the four area sectionals, which will take place May 21-26:
• Class 4A Bedford North Lawrence Sectional: first round — Floyd Central vs. New Albany, Seymour vs. Jennings County; semifinals — first-round winners, Jeffersonville vs. Bedford North Lawrence.
• Class 3A North Harrison Sectional: first round — Salem vs. Corydon, Silver Creek vs. North Harrison, Scottsburg vs. Charlestown; semifinals — Brownstown vs. Salem-Corydon winner, Silver Creek-North Harrison winner vs. Scottsburg-Charlestown winner.
• Class 2A Crawford County Sectional: first round — Crawford County vs. Henryville, Paoli vs. Clarksville; semifinals — first-round winners, Providence vs. Eastern.
• Class A Lanesville Sectional: semifinals — Borden vs. Lanesville, New Washington vs. South Central.
Hornets clinch share of SAC5/10/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)Host Henryville clinched a share of the Southern Athletic Conference title with an 8-5 victory over South Central.
Erin Harrison paced the Hornet bats, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored. Also for Henryville (11-10, 4-1 SAC), Sarah Richey went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs and Sydney Hollingsworth was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
The Hornets’ Natalie Basham got the victory on the mound. In a complete-game effort, she gave up three earned runs on five hits with five walks and five strikeouts.
“We’ve had a really up-and-down year, so it’s good to have something to celebrate,” Henryville head coach Jenny Schroeder said.
Generals handle Henryville5/9/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)Kayla Wallace went 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI to lead host Clarksville past Henryville, 7-2.
Also for the Generals (11-8), Shelby Carta went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored and Kierstin Hall was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Clarksville pitcher Hannah Heintzman earned the victory. In a complete-game performance, she allowed two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks.
“She threw strikes and our defense was pretty good,” Generals’ head coach Tim Hauber said. “Hannah got out of trouble in the first and shut them down the rest of the game.”
Henryville pitcher Natalie Basham suffered the loss.
Henryville goose-egged5/8/2012 by Kevin Harris & Matt Koesters (The Evening News)Henryville lost to Salem at home on Tuesday, 4-0.
The Hornets mustered only two hits in the contest. Meanwhile, the defense did losing pitcher Natalie Basham few favors with five errors committed.
Hornets roll past Borden5/3/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)Starter Natalie Basham allowed four hits in a complete-game outing to lead host Henryville past Borden in five innings, 14-1. Basham gave up one earned run and one walk, while striking out five.
Sarah Richey led the Hornets (10-8, 3-1 SAC) at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Teammates Sydney Hollingsworth and Sierra Elifrits each went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Henryville collected 11 hits after getting no-hit in each of its last two games.
“It’s nice to get a win. Hopefully, we’ll get the momentum to swing our way,” Hornets’ head coach Jenny Schroeder said.
Shelbie Farvour got the loss on the mound for the Braves.
Hornets rally past Tigers in SAC5/1/2012 by Zach Spicer (Seymour Tribune)HENRYVILLE — The Crothersville softball team had a 3-0 lead over Henryville in its final Southern Athletic Conference game of the season on Wednesday.
But the host Hornets scored four runs in the bottom of the third and one in the fifth and held on for a 5-3 win.
Crothersville outhit Henryville 8-1, but the Lady Tigers committed five errors to the Hornets’ three. Whitney Wienhorst went 3 for 3 and scored one of the Tigers’ runs, while Sam Spall was 3 for 4 and scored once.
Kelsey Hoskins went the distance on the mound for Crothersville, giving up eight walks and striking out six.
The Tigers finished 0-5 in the SAC.
Silver Creek thumps Henryville4/30/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)Silver Creek’s Shayla Cravens held Henryville to just one hit in the Dragons’ 10-0 home victory on Monday.
The Dragons needed just five innings to put away the Hornets. Silver Creek’s onslaught started in the home second, when it sent 11 batters to the plate to pick up six runs to put the game out of reach early on.
For Silver Creek, Kira Jamros was 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and two RBI. Mackenzie Bush was 3-for-3 with two RBI, while Cravens was 2-for-3 at the plate.
Cravens struck out eight Henryville batters in five innings of work. She walked one.
“She was pretty well spotting her fast ball today, and then she was mixing in her curve,” Silver Creek assistant coach Terry Purlee said. “She threw pretty well.”
Providence edges Henryville4/26/2012 by Matt Koesters & Kevin Harris (The Evening News)Both teams had sloppy games, but Providence proved to be slightly more sound in a 5-3 win at Henryville on Thursday.
“It’s always nice to beat a sectional opponent, and also a team coached by Jenny (Schroeder),” Providence coach Sean Payne said. “She does a real good job. But I don’t think either of us would be happy with the way our teams played tonight. Way too many errors. It was a sloppy game, but I’m happy coming out with a W against Henryville.”
Providence committed four errors in the game. Henryville had five.
“I don’t think either one of us saw the other team’s best by any stretch,” Schroeder said.
Meredith Endris improved her pitching record to 6-4 with the victory, while Natalie Basham fell to 6-6. Endris allowed just three Henryville hits in the contest.
Providence’s Morgan Boone was 2-for-5 with two RBI, while teammate Lillian Hughes knocked in two more runs.
New Washington edges Henryville4/25/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)SOUTHERN INDIANA — Coari Robertson’s excellent offensive performance helped keep New Washington near the top of the Southern Athletic Conference in its 4-3 home win over Henryville on Wednesday.
“It was a big win. It’s always big when you beat Henryville,” New Washington coach Tim Sexton said. “... We’re just hitting the ball well. Our pitchers have been doing a good job.”
Robertson muscled a two-run home run over the left-feld wall in the game’s first inning to give the Mustangs the lead, and padded it with an RBI double in the next inning. Roberston finished 2-for-3 for the day.
Kaira Doherty got credit for the win, going 3 2/3 innings and striking out five. Whitney Morris went the rest of the way, sending back seven Henryville batters.
New Washington (9-6, 3-1 SAC) extended its winning streak to seven with the victory.
Braves down 2A No. 5 Hornets in 6 innings4/23/2012 by Dennis Dunn (Seymour Tribune)BROWNSTOWN — In the bottom of the first inning, Brownstown Central’s Chelsea Scott ripped a foul ball toward her bench and hit Courtney Conrad, who was waiting in the on-deck circle, on the foot.
One pitch later, however, Scott hit a low ball over the left-field fence for a 2-0 lead, and the Lady Braves never looked back as they cruised to an 11-1 win over Class 2A No. 5 Henryville on Monday night at home.
The Braves outhit the Hornets 12-5.
“I am real proud of the girls, and Chelsea is starting to hit the ball hard,” Lady Braves coach Monte Ault said. “I also thought Kelsie (Pullen) did a good job on the mound of changing things up a bit.
“(Henryville) came in 8-4 and has beaten some good teams,” he added. “We got on them early and our defense had one error, but all the way around, I was real proud of the whole team.”
Sierra Enrique singled in the first inning and advanced to second on an error by the right fielder, who misplayed her grounder. Scott then drilled the home run to give Brownstown the lead.
Neither team scored in the second inning, but in the top of the third, Henryville scored its only run of the game on two singles.
The Braves scored three runs in the bottom of the third. Enrique was hit by a pitch and moved over on a single by Scott. Conrad then knocked a two-run triple that scored Enrique and Scott. Brooke Rogers roped a double that scored Conrad for the 5-1 lead.
The Braves increased their lead in the fourth inning as Brooke Metz and Hallie Wessel had back-to-back walks, Enrique had a two-run single and Scott followed that up with a run-scoring double for an 8-1 lead.
Maeleigh Tidd hit a lead-off home run for the Braves in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it 9-1, and Brownstown scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs to end the game by the 10-run rule.
The Braves collected at least one hit in every inning, and hitters two through six had all of the hits.
“We have been hitting the ball pretty good the last three or four games,” Ault said. “Brooke was down this game, but she is capable of bouncing back. To get 12 hits and have only one error a game shows it’s an all-around team effort.
“Darren (Bryant, assistant coach) has done a great job and deserves a lot of credit for how well the team has done,” Ault added. “It’s a good win, and any time you can come in and beat a ranked team like that is good. We have to be ready to play the next couple of games as we get into the tough part of our schedule. I think we are a good team, but to be a good team, we have to beat the good teams.”
Pullen struck out four and didn’t walk any in six innings of work.
Scott had a team-high four hits, while Tidd finished with three and Enrique and Conrad each had two. Enrique scored three runs, and Scott and Tidd each had three RBIs.
Henryville splits with Paoli4/21/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)Henryville dropped the first game of a home doubleheader, 5-4, before recovering with an eight-run sixth inning to win the second game, 9-8, at home against Paoli on Saturday.
“You hate to have a loss on errors as we did in the first game,” Henryville coach Jenny Schroeder said. “We get up on people, and then we kind of stop and let them back in the game with our lack of defense sometimes. That was disappointing.”
The Rams converted three Henryville fielding errors into three runs in the fourth inning of game one to give Natalie Basham the pitching loss for the Hornets.
Only two of the Paoli runs were earned.
Henryville got some bad news in the first inning of the first game, when shortstop Cheyenne Mayfield rolled her ankle. She missed the rest of the day’s action and could be out longer.
In Game 2, Henryville manufactured eight sixth-inning runs to keep freshman pitcher Ashtyn Kaskie’s record perfect at 3-0.
“It was nice to see us fight back instead of just hanging our heads and feeling like the day was over,” Schroeder said.
Sarah Richey was the offensive leader in both games, going a combined 5-for-7 with two doubles, four runs scored, two runs batted in and one stolen base.
Henryville rips Eastern4/20/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)Henryville had everything working in a six-inning, 10-0 victory over Eastern at home on Friday.
“It seemed like tonight, we started off very well. We got our leadoff on, moved her over and executed very well offensively,” Henryville coach Jenny Schroeder said. “Our defense did very well tonight.”
Henryville (7-3) pitcher Natalie Basham allowed just two hits in her six-inning performance. She struck out nine.
“She looked very fresh and had her stuff going today,” Schroeder said. “She did a nice job of keeping their batters off-balance.”
The Hornets were also potent on offense, scoring five runs in the game’s first two innings and putting it away with five more in the sixth.
Sarah Richey led the offensive effort with a 2-for-4 performance that included two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored. Erin Hairston contributed with a 2-for-4 performance. She scored three Henryville runs.
Henryville’s defense fails at Lanesville4/18/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)Henryville committed six fielding errors in a 13-6 loss at Lanesville on Wednesday.
“I’m not sure what the problem was. It’s almost as though we didn’t come ready to play, defensively,” Henryville coach Jenny Schroeder said. “I feel like we were prepared offensively. We hit the ball very well. You score six runs against a very good pitcher, it should be enough to win a game, but when your defense makes six errors, it makes it very difficult to win the game.”
The Hornets struck first with two runs in the first and another in the second, but the hosts responded with six runs in the third and five more in the fifth to put the game away.
Natalie Basham took the loss for the Hornets. She struck out one and walked two.
Sydney Hollingsworth was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Sarah Richey was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for Henryville.
Henryville offense comes alive4/17/2012 by Matt Koesters & Kevin Harris (The Evening News)Henryville’s offense poured it on in a 14-3 home victory over Trinity Lutheran on Tuesday.
“We hit all the way through the lineup,” Henryville coach Jenny Schroeder said. “We finally had a game like that where other people came through, and we hit well one through nine.”
The Hornets had plenty of stars on offense, led by Sarah Richey with a 3-for-3 performance. Richey smacked two doubles, drove in three runs and scored three more.
Also for Henryville, Natalie Basham was 3-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI, while Sydney Hollingsworth was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI.
Freshman Ashtyn Kaskie recorded her second win in two decisions for the Hornets. She went four innings, struck out four, walked four and hit one batter. She allowed one run.
“She’s been pitching less than a year, so to come out and allow just one hit was pretty good,” Schroeder said. “We expected Trinity Lutheran to hit the ball, and she did a good job of battling back. She got behind in the count a lot, but she did a good job of battling back and staying composed. She’s still learning, but it was a good outing for her.”
Henryville falls in extras4/12/2012 by Matt Koesters & Kevin Harris (The Evening News)Henryville dropped an eight-inning game at home against Southwestern on Thursday, 10-8.
“I’ve said all along, we’ve been winning by the skin of our teeth, and all these mental mistakes we make were going to catch up to us, and that’s exactly what happened tonight,” Henryville coach Jenny Schroeder said. “It was just a matter of time. Good teams aren’t going to be beaten by teams that make mental mistakes. Until we make the correction, we’re going to continue to have games like this.”
Natalie Basham took the loss for the Hornets. She struck out six, walked four and hit a batter.
Offensively for Henryville, Sydney Hollingsworth had a 3-for-4 day with two doubles and two RBI. Erin Hairston went 3-for-4 and scored a run, and Sarah Richey was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
“We did talk today before the game how some other people need to start stepping up, and let’s not continue to rely on the same three people,” Schroeder said “We need some underclassmen and some new faces to step up and hit, so that part of it is nice to see. I just wish that those same girls, defensively, would back that up.”
Henryville sneaks past Scottsburg4/9/2012 by Matt Koesters & Kevin Harris (The Evening News)Despite being outhit 15-6, Henryville stole a 7-6 win from Scottsburg at home Monday.
Henryville coach Jenny Schroeder wasn’t happy, despite the win.
“We continually rely on the same three girls to carry us, these same senior girls that get all the RBIs and hits, and are continually on base and making defensive plays,” Schroeder said, “Sarah Richey catching, Natalie Basham pitching and Cheyenne (Mayfield) there at shortstop. Nobody else is stepping up. Nobody else is stepping up as far as hitting, either. We cannot continue to play like this and have success.”
Richey was 2-for-2 with two RBI, two runs scored and two walks.
Basham threw a complete game, striking out six. All six runs allowed were earned.
No Place Like Home4/6/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)HENRYVILLE — Henryville High School may still be undergoing non-stop repairs in the wake of the March 2 tornadoes that flattened large portions of the schools, but the school’s athletic fields are still playable.
The Henryville baseball and softball teams made the most of the opportunity to play on their home fields for the first time this season. The softball team edged New Washington in a tight 5-4 affair, while the baseball team put an end to a season-opening four-game losing streak with a 10-1 victory over Crothersville on Friday.
Henryville pitcher Natalie Basham blasted a game-deciding, three-run homer in the home fifth inning to put the game out of reach. But Sarah Richey deserves at least as much credit for her work behind the plate in the Henryville softball team’s 5-4 win over Southern Athletic Conference-rival New Washington.
Richey shot down three Mustang base-stealing attempts and completed a critical play at the plate on a New Washington squeeze attempt in the sixth inning.
"Sarah is the heart and soul of our team," Henryville softball coach Jenny Schroeder said. "She does such a good job back there that it goes unnoticed a lot of the time, because she makes plays and she makes them look easy. The plays she’s making aren’t easy."
"She’s a special catcher. She’ll pick up all the signs," New Washington coach Tim Sexton said. "She’s always looking so she knows the signs. She’s a smart ballplayer. You can’t get nothing past her."
Richey’s play probably took at least two runs off the board.
After Henryville built a 2-0 lead in the home first, New Washington came roaring right back into the contest in the next frame when Lindsey Mudd launched a double down the third-base line. Mudd came home when she attempted to steal third and no one was there to gather in Richey’s throw.
However, New Washington’s Kaira Doherty wasn’t as lucky when she tried to take second after being issued a walk. The next batter, Coari Robertson, smashed a triple to right-center that would have put Doherty across with ease, and scored on a single by Whitney Leezer.
The game remained knotted at 2-2 until the bottom of the fifth inning. Henryville’s Erin Hairston slapped a slow roller and beat New Washington pitcher Whitney Morris’ throw to first base and headed to second on a fielding error. An out later, Richey worked her way back from behind to draw a walk.
That’s when Basham strode to the plate.
On the first pitch of the at-bat — Morris’ last of the game — Basham bashed the ball over the left-field fence to give Henryville a 5-2 lead.
"Natalie’s a senior now. We expect her to come through," Schroeder said. "She’s doing a good job in the circle. She’s not somebody that’s going to come out and get 13 strikeouts a game, and we know that going in. She helps herself out by doing her job in the circle. It helps when our defense comes through for her, which they’ve done the past week. But then she helps herself out batting-wise, too."
New Washington lost another potential run on another great play by Richey in the sixth. With Kaira Doherty at third base and Robertson at second, Leezer attempted to squeeze home a run. But Basham pounced on the ball and got it back to Richey, whose tag narrowly stopped Doherty from scoring.
"(New Washington is) aggressive on the basepaths and we remembered that," Schroeder said. "Luckily, our catcher and our fielders were kind of ready for that and they executed. We executed when they attempted hit-and-run, bunt-and-run or a squeeze play. We executed almost every time. When you execute the things that you practice on a daily basis, when you get them in the game and you execute them well, this is the result."
New Washington scattered 11 hits in the contest, stranding seven baserunners.
"We just couldn’t get bunts down," Sexton said. "We were supposed to be bunting runs, and just couldn’t capitalize on it. But we gave them a couple runs in the first inning on the errors and just got behind, but we fought back and at least we fought back as a team."
Hornets edge New Albany4/5/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)NEW ALBANY — The Henryville softball team scored one run in the top of the first inning and blanked host New Albany the rest of the way in a 1-0 victory at Prosser Field on Thursday.
The Hornets (3-1) plated their run when Cheyenne Mayfield came home after the Bulldogs (2-1) botched a rundown between third base and home plate.
Henryville pitcher Natalie Basham earned the victory. In a complete-game effort, Basham tossed a five-hit shutout as she surrendered two walks.
The Hornets collected only two hits, which were by Mayfield and Spencer Whitehouse.
“Anytime you can compete with New Albany, you are happy with that,” Henryville head coach Jenny Schroeder said. “Defensively, we were great today, but our hitting has got to come around. Our biggest issue is our hitting right now.”
Despite a solid outing on the mound, New Albany pitcher Hannah Morton got the loss. Morton went the distance, yielding two hits with 11 strikeouts and two walks.
Henryville sweeps Switzerland County3/31/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)Henryville picked up two wins at Switzerland County on Saturday.
In the first game, Natalie Basham pitched a three-hit shutout to contribute to a 7-0 victory. Sarah Richey had a double and a triple in the game.
In the second game, freshman Ashtyn Kaskie got her first varsity win in a 13-5 slugfest in which the Hornets and Pacers combined for 29 hits.
Again, it was Basham who provided the spark for Henryville, pounding three doubles and driving in six runs in the game. Additionally, Erin Hairston took advantage of a slow field to the tune of four bunt singles in four official plate appearances. Hairston scored three runs in the game.
Corydon downs Henryville in home opener3/30/2012 by Brian Smith (The Corydon Democrat)PhotosThe second time through the batting order was the charm for the Corydon Central softball team in its home opener Friday afternoon.
From the third inning forward, the Lady Panthers collected nine hits to eventually blank visiting Henryville, 9-0.
Prior to the contest, during player introductions, the Corydon Central players offered a yellow carnation to members of the Henryville squad. It was the first softball game for the school since a tornado caused significant damage to Henryville on March 2.
Henryville made its best case to score in the first inning but ended it with two runners stranded.
When the third inning rolled around, Corydon Central's bats went to work. It started with the speedy Aly Chambers reaching on a bunt single. Kaitlan Money followed with a sharp single through the left side of the infield. Both runners advanced a base when Kristen Alcorn grounded out.
Driving in the first run was Kaitlyn Logsdon, who grounded to shortstop Cheyenne Mayfield. Mayfield's attempt to cut down Chambers at the plate was unsuccessful. Corydon Central increased the lead to 2-0 when Ashley Mattingly plated Money via a sacrifice fly to center.
"We looked slow-startish in the first couple of innings, but, when our offense started, there was more confidence at the plate," said Corydon Central coach Kim Briscoe. "We have some speedsters that are really quick. We have a tough time convincing some of the kids their attributes, but they are getting it."
Henryville put runners on in the top of the fourth with a Sydney Hollingsworth single and a Miranda Hopper walk. Corydon Central pitcher Ashley Crawhorn was able to get out of the inning by striking out Spencer Whitehouse. The twirler gave up two hits overall and closed with nine strikeouts for her first win of the season.
"She realizes she didn't pitch enough over the winter," Briscoe said of Crawhorn. "She'll have to pitch her way into shape, but she's a senior with a lot on her plate. She pitched well today."
Crawhorn benefited from additional run support when the Lady Panthers posted five in the fourth inning. Leading off the frame, Bethany McClanahan reached on a walk and eventually scored when Kayla Owsley hit an infield single.
Later in the inning, Chambers reached on an infield error and moved up a base when Money reached on a fielder's choice. After Alcorn reached on a walk, it loaded the bases for Logsdon to clear them. She smacked a shot to left field that eventually skipped by the fielder sending everyone, including herself, by the plate.
"Much better with the bats today," Briscoe said. "Kaitlan Money is hitting the ball everywhere. She's a great leadoff hitter and looking like she's making a good transition to the catcher position. I had to take the bat out of their hands a little bit. A little frustrating with the bunting that should have happened but didn't happen, but that will come."
Two additional runs scored in the fifth inning for Corydon Central. McClanahan had an RBI double, while Money plated the ninth run of the game with a single.
McClanahan, Money and Chambers finished the game with two hits each. Natalie Basham took the loss in the circle for Henryville.
"It was a good win for us to play someone from Indiana," Briscoe said after the team went 0-3 at a tournament in Meade County (Ky.). "We didn't do so hot in Kentucky last week. They'll be fun to watch this year. When they lose, they will know why because they are so in to softball."
Three freshmen got the start in the infield for the Lady Panthers and played well.
"Two players were gone to club volleyball, but we weren't hurt by that," Briscoe said. "Our freshman first baseman (McClanahan) did a really nice job in her first varsity start. We have a freshman at third base (Alcorn) and shortstop (Logsdon). They are still kind of nervous, but they are talented and learning the system."
Softball Preview3/27/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)BORDEN
• COACH: Alex Spainhour.
• RETURNING STARTERS: Caitlin McKinley, Shelbie Farvour, Katy Wingler, Haifa Ishtayeh.
• KEY DEPARTURES: Borden lost four seniors to graduation last year.
• STRENGTHS: Work ethic, according to Spainhour.
“(The players) push themselves and always give me everything that they have,” Spainhour said. “They are eager to learn and they stay positive, which is extremely important for such a young team that is only in the second year of the program. All of them are extremely coachable.”
• WEAKNESSES: Inexperience. Borden is in just its second year as an IHSAA softball program.
“The bulk of the team is made up of freshmen, so we are inexperienced for that reason,” Spainhour said, “and also because we are such a new program.”
CHARLESTOWN
• COACH: Kevin Zollman
• RETURNING STARTERS: Alli Webster, P; Alyssa Price, 3B; Gracynn Jennings, C.
• KEY DEPARTURES: Lost five seniors, including Tyler Bradford, Jenna Sherrill, Brittany Bennison. Kelsie Houchens.
• IMPACT NEWCOMERS: Sophomores Cassie Martin, Morgan Ashby and Lauren Crow, and freshmen Kaitlyn Henning, Shelby Goedecker and Daisy Nichols.
• STRENGTHS: Webster was Charlestown’s most powerful bat last year as well as a potent starting pitcher, and Zollman expects Webster and Price to be the team’s strongest points.
• WEAKNESSES: Charlestown will lack experience, with zero seniors on the team and a lot of underclassmen expected to contribute.
“I can tell it’s going to hurt a little bit,” Zollman said. “We’re going to be youthful at the beginning of the season.”
CLARKSVILLE
• COACH: Tim Hauber
• RETURNING STARTERS: Amber Perez, P; Shelby Carta, 1B; Lex Medlock, 3B; Kierstin Hall, C; Ali Sparkman, SS; Myranda Ridenour, 2B; Danica Leach, OF; Brooke Lucas, OF; Hannah Heintzman, OF.
• KEY DEPARTURES: None.
• IMPACT NEWCOMERS: Summer Dees, Kayla Wallace.
• STRENGTHS: Experience and confidence.
“They’re going to have a little confidence,” Hauber said. “We don’t have a ton of overall talent, but those that are there are fairly fundamental.”
• WEAKNESSES: Handling last year’s success is what Hauber expects the team to struggle with in 2012.
“I’m not sure how we are going to handle it. I think we’ll probably come into games we should win with a lot of confidence, and do all right, but then other games where we come in against say, a bigger opponent — and we already did that once because we played Floyd (Central) last Thursday,” Hauber said, referring to the Generals’ 9-1 loss last week. “We come in and made an error, and then big school, little school, we kind of folded. They scored nine unearned runs on us in two innings. So handling the success we had is going to be tough.”
FLOYD CENTRAL
• COACH: Joe Witten
• RETURNING STARTERS: Taylor Batliner, C/SS; Taylor McClure, C/SS; Samantha Feather, 1B; Brianna Mayfield, 2B; Kallie Krammes, LF; Kate Kaiser, CF; Alex Engleman, utility player.
• KEY DEPARTURES: Samantha McClure and Jordan Batliner, both of whom are playing at the collegiate level.
• IMPACT NEWCOMERS: Floyd Central reloads with new players at several positions. They are the following: Sophomore Caroline Cato, pitcher; sophomore Morgan Harper, pitcher/utility; sophomore Katelin Dreher, third base; junior Robin Dowell, utility; sophomore Abbie Engle, utility; sophomore Amber Mahan, first base; and sophomore Shelby Rost, outfield.
• STRENGTHS: Depth at each position.
“This team has the ability to have a different girl every night come through with the big hit or great catch,” Witten said.
• WEAKNESSES: Witten characterizes his team as a very talented but busy bunch, and lists getting on the field for practice consistently as his top concern.
“So many of our student-athletes participate in other academic activities that are many times after school, so it leaves our practice time at a premium when we are together,” Witten said. “It doesn’t allow for as much softball time as we would like as coaches. But we stress academics first at Floyd Central, so we wouldn’t want it any other way.”
HENRYVILLE
• COACH: Jenny Schroeder.
• RETURNING STARTERS: Sarah Richey, C; Natalie Basham, P; Erin Hairston, 3B; Cheyenne Mayfield, SS.
• KEY DEPARTURE: Ashley Dickerson, who was All-State and a South All-Star last season.
• STRENGTHS: In an area affected by the catastrophic weather of March 2, Schroeder is just glad to have a team to coach this season.
“At this point, we feel fortunate to even be having a season,” Schroeder said. “We are a bit behind from where we need to be, especially with so many new faces in the program. Our strength will be in our unity and how tragedy has bonded us to one another.”
• WEAKNESSES: Henryville is a program in flux, and it’s still looking for the right combination of players to compete this season.
“In order for us to contend with others in our conference and in our sectional, we are going to have to play good defense consistently and hit the ball throughout the lineup,” Schroeder said. “At this point, we aren’t even sure where some of our starters will be in certain positions, so we have quite a bit of work ahead.”
JEFFERSONVILLE
• COACH: Jodi Bradley
• RETURNING STARTERS: Lakin Roland, Kayla Poppe, Courtney Francisco, Maddie Powell.
• KEY DEPARTURES: Jeffersonville lost three starters from last season, all of whom started.
• STRENGTHS: Pitching.
“I think pitching will be one of our strengths this season,” Bradley said.
• WEAKNESSES: Jeffersonville is looking to improve its performances at the plate this season.
“We have to improve on our hitting this season,” Bradley said.
NEW ALBANY
• COACH: Steve Belden
• RETURNING STARTERS: Mady Baumann, SS; Brittany Jones, 2B; Jamie Whitten, 1B; Abby Litkenhous, C; Sydney Rudy, LF; Halee Kaiser (injured), OF.
• KEY DEPARTURES: Brittany Kaiser, Sydney Brown, Chelsea Aldaffer.
• IMPACT NEWCOMERS: Hannah Morton, P; Mackenzie Gill, P; Hannah Veit, OF.
• STRENGTHS: Belden likes his team defensively, and feels it will be able to score runs.
“We’ve got some good core returning starters,” Belden said. “We’ve got power and speed. If we can put it all together, we can be a good offensive weapon. At the same token, with the amount of returning starters we should be solid defensively.”
• WEAKNESSES: Inexperience at the pitching position presents an unknown for the 2012 Bulldogs. Two freshmen, Morton and Gill, will share the duties on the mound.
“We’ve lost due to injury our junior starter (Andrea Wright) from last year, our pitcher. So we’ve got two freshman pitchers,” Belden said. “Until we see how they handle this level of competition, that’s going to be a question mark.”
NEW WASHINGTON
• COACH: Tim Sexton
• RETURNING STARTERS: Kayla Sexton, C/IF; Whitney Morris, P/OF; Coari Robertson, IF/OF; Emily Burke, OF/IF; Alyssa Brewer, SS; Kasie Doherty, 3B; Kaira Doherty, 1B/P; Whitney Leezer, 2B/OF; Kaitlyn Schindler, OF; Lindsey Mudd, OF/1B; Ashley Johnson, OF/3B.
• KEY DEPARTURES: Casey Johnson, 3B; Felicia Clemons, OF.
• STRENGTHS: Sexton’s team returns a wealth of experience, although the loss of Casey Johnson at third base will probably show early on. Sexton says he likes his team’s speed, power and pitching.
• WEAKNESSES: Sexton hopes to see the squad’s teamwork improve throughout the year.
“Our pitchers must have faith in our defense,” Sexton said. “(We must) play together and do the little things to improve our overall team play.”
PROVIDENCE
• COACH: Sean Payne
• RETURNING STARTERS: Adrienne Voelker, C; Taylor Rockey, RF/P; Morgan Habermel, LF; Allie Gillenwater, CF; Kelsea Bedan, 3B; Meredith Endris, P; Jordyn Stengel, SS; Charly Wolford, 1B.
• KEY DEPARTURE: Hadley Anderson, 2B.
• IMPACT NEWCOMERS: Morgan Boone, 2B; Sierra Collett, P; Lillian Hughes, 3B; Karly Baumann, 1B.
• STRENGTHS: Payne says there’s not much to like about the 2012 Pioneers.
“We have amazing depth and very solid pitching,” Payne said. “To go with our pitching, we should have a very good defense. Our lineup will be strong one-through-nine, and this should be the best hitting team we have had at Providence in my six years.”
• WEAKNESSES: Payne likes his talent, but he hopes that they can coordinate well on the field.
“This team loves to talk ... until we hit the field,” Payne said. “Players need to accept their roles and gel together like great teams do. If that happens, then the sky is the limit for this bunch.”
SILVER CREEK
• COACH: Dave Harvey
• RETURNING STARTERS: Junior Brooke Barnett and seniors Tiphany Harper and Kelsey Sierota.
• KEY DEPARTURES: Silver Creek lost six seniors last year, including Megan Pennington and Kim Jamros. Additionally, two other starters chose not to return.
• IMPACT NEWCOMERS: Silver Creek will be looking for Heather Knight to fill the void at third base, while Shayla Cravens and Audrey Jolissaint will get their first taste of pitching at the varsity level.
• STRENGTHS: Harvey likes his team’s pitchers and the squad’s ability to put runs on the board.
“Our strength will be pitching, as long as our two pitchers stay healthy this year, which is something they fought last season,” Harvey said. “We should also be sound offensively.”
• WEAKNESSES: Inexperience.
“We are young this year, with only two seniors,” Harvey said. “As a team, we need to continue to learn throughout the course of the season. It will take us awhile to find ourselves — it’s a whole new team this year.”
