The Switzerland County Lady Pacers continue to climb in the state rankings, and remained undefeated with two big victories during the past week.
Last Friday the Lady Pacers defeated Rising Sun by a score of 9-1 to run their record to 15-0 overall and 9-0 in ORVC play.
Coach Steven Konkle said that the Switzerland County hitters were a bit off guard early in the game due to the pitching of Rising Sun’s Sammi Jo Walton; but the Lady Pacers managed to score two runs in the bottom of the first inning and add four more in the second. A single run in the third was followed by the final two runs in the sixth.
Lady Pacer hurler Kodi Driver continued her outstanding season, scattering seven hits while striking out five and allowing only one walk. She runs her overall record to 11-0 on the year.
Freshman Tanya Sefton went 3-for-4 at the plate, scoring three runs and driving in two while adding a stolen base. Brittany Cole continued her outstanding year by going 2-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and one run scored. In the field, she also made an outstanding catch in the sixth inning with runners on first and second to save what could have become a big inning for Rising Sun.
Natalie Graham and Jaclyn Ranz were both 1-for-3 at the plate; while Kodi Driver, Natalie Daugherty, and Ashley Chase were all 1-for-4 on the evening.
Holly Jackson, Natalie Graham, Jaclyn Ranz, and Courtney Cole all scored runs in the game; with Kodi Driver and Jaclyn Ranz also contributing runs batted in.
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Switzerland County then hooked up with Milan in a critical ORVC battle on Monday night, and again the Lady Pacers came out on the winning end of the ledger, running their overall record to 16-0.
“It was just a good, close ballgame,” Switzerland County coach Steven Konkle said following the victory. “It was close through five innings, and Milan played an inspired game against us.”
Kodi Driver upped her record to 12-0 by pitching seven innings, striking out two, and allowing only five hits and one walk.
Offensively, Switzerland County was led by senior Jaclyn Ranz, who was 1-for-3 at the plate with a triple. She scored the Lady Pacers’ first run of the game on an RBI single by Natalie Graham.
Milan had the lead 2-0 after four innings, but Switzerland County scored a run in the fifth and two in the sixth off of two Milan errors. Four more runs in the seventh gave Kodi Driver all of the cushion that she would need to nail down the victory, as she through only three pitches in the sixth inning and faced only four batters in the seventh.
Tanya Sefton continued to make her mark at the varsity level, going 1-for-4 with a double; while Ashley Chase, Natalie Graham, Jaclyn Ranz, and Courtney Cole were all 1-for-3. Holly Jackson was 1-for-4 at the plate in the game.
Tanya Sefton, Brittany Cole, Jaclyn Ranz, and Courtney Cole also had runs batted in during the game.
Switzerland County was to play Oldenburg Academy yesterday (Wednesday) and then travel to South Decatur on Friday.
The Lady Pacers then face two big battles early next week, playing at Jac-Cen-Del on Monday and then traveling to Southwestern on Wednesday. A win in either of those games guarantees Switzerland County the conference championship