Lady Pacer softball team off to a good start with season-opening victories

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The Switzerland County Lady Pacer softball team got off to a great start on Wednesday, April 5th with a win at South Dearborn 8-3.

“The team played okay for a first game,” coach Steve Konkle said. “They had some errors, but worked past them.”

Tanya Sefton was 2-for-2; Ashley Chase and Natalie Daugherty were 2-for-4; as all three had a single and a triple. Natalie Graham, Courtney Cole and Rachel Rodgers all had singles.

Natalie Daugherty and Ashley Chase were the RBI leaders with four each; and Kodi Driver, Rachel Rodgers and Natalie Graham all had an RBI. Courtney Cole added a stolen base to her stats.

Kodi Driver was pitcher for the game and had three strikeouts.

Two big plays during the game included a double play in the first inning that took South Dearborn out of a scoring opportunity when they were close to doing so. The second big play was at the end of fourth quarter when Tanya Sefton threw the ball from center field to catcher Natalie Daugherty — who got the runner out trying to score at home.

Steve Konkle picked two players of the game: Catcher Natalie Daugherty had four RBI, and no balls went past her and no runners attempted to steal. Sophomore Tanya Sefton was also player of the game with 2-for-2 at the plate; scoring four runs and the exciting play from center field connecting with Natalie Daugherty at home plate.

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The jayvee team also played South Dearborn, winning by a score of 10-3.

“The girls had a great start for such a young team, Kayla Konkle pitched a great game,” coach Rob Daugherty said. “The defense had zero fielding errors but had two throwing errors and two errors on catching thrown balls. South Dearborn beat us last year 8-0.”

Two runs were scored by Melissa Raisor, Kelsi South and Kayla Konkle. Emilee Waldron, Amber Smith, Rachel Tressler and Karista Wengert all had a run each.

RBI leader was Amber Smith with three; Jenna Daugherty had two; Melissa Raisor, Emilee Waldron, Rachel Tressler, Kelsi South and Kayla Konkle all finished with an RBI each.

Stolen base leader was Kelsi South with two; Melissa Raisor, Emilee Waldron, Amber Smith, Rachel Tressler, Jenna Daugherty and Kayla Konkle each had one stolen base.

Kayla Konkle pitched and had three strikeouts and no walks.

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The Pacer softball team continued on its winning streak, beating South Ripley Monday night by a score of 11-1.

“Kodi Driver pitched well again without a walk and our defense did its job and our bats got 12 hits,” coach Steve Konkle said. “Tanya Sefton, Sara Craig, Natalie Graham and Natalie Daugherty all played well. This is our first conference win.”

Coach Steve Konkle picked two players as players of the game: Natalie Graham who was 2-for-4 and had a total of four RBI. Sara Craig was 3-for-3 and had two RBI.

Kodi Driver pitched five innings, facing 17 batters. She had five strikeouts, allowed one hit and had no walks.

There was a triple struck by Natalie Daugherty; and two doubles — one by Ashley Chase and one by Sara Craig.

Natalie Graham and Ashley Bright each had two hits. Tanya Sefton, Kodi Driver, Courtney Cole and Rachel Rodgers all had a hit.

Natalie Graham was RBI leader with four; Sara Craig and Natalie Daugherty each had two RBI. Ashley Chase, Courtney Cole and Rachel Rodgers all had an RBI.

Natalie Daugherty and Tanya Sefton each had three runs and courtesy runner Megan McCarty had two runs. Ashley Chase, Ashley Bright and Natalie Graham all had a run each.

Tanya Sefton had the most stolen bases with four; and Natalie Daugherty and Megan McCarty each had two and Ashley Bright added one.

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The jayvee team took its second win against South Ripley 10-9 at home following the varsity girls game.

“This was a big conference win for the girls, we hit the ball well,” coach Rob Daugherty said. “We did not play defense as good as the first game but turned around and made several big defensive plays in the the seventh inning to win the game.”

Three runs were scored by Karista Wengert, who was player of the game. She was 2-for-2, had a triple and a walk. She had no errors during the game and finished with RBI.

Amber Smith, Rachel Tressler and Megan McCarty all had a stolen base each.

Jenna Daugherty had two RBI while Melissa Raisor, Amber Smith, Rachel Tressler and Kelsi South all finished with one RBI.

Kayla Konkle, Karista Wengert, Amber Smith, Kelsi South, and Megan McCarty all had two hits each. Melissa Raisor, Jenna Daugherty, and Kim Fox all had a hit; while Rachel Tressler had two walks.

The varsity girls will be playing this Saturday at home at 10 a.m. against Jac-Cen-Del and North Decatur.