By Christopher Tenpenny
The Lady Bears’ softball team collected its first win of the season with a dominant 21-5 win over Osceola April 15 at Butler.
The Lady Bears were 0-9 on the season coming into the game. Head coach Tim Townsend said the girls just relaxed and stopped pressing.
“We had kind of come to the point where things hadn’t gone our way and we were focusing too much on that,” Townsend said. “We decided to go out there and just have fun and not worry about the rest of it.”
For Townsend, it’s also his first win as the head softball coach.
“It’s a lift off my shoulders. The girls hard work is paying off. We played a really good game all the way around,” Townsend said.
Everyone in the starting lineup collected at least one hit and one RBI. The 1-5 hitters combined which is made up of Zoey Fritts, Emma Wareham, Cloey Fritts, Gracee Lesmeister and Paige Switzer went 15-18 and 14 RBIs.
The Lady Bears scored in every inning including nine in the fourth inning. They also had eight extra base hits as the ball was flying across the field.
Ella Buckner started on the mound for the Lady Bears. Buckner gave up two runs in the first, but settled down and pitched two scoreless innings. Lesmeister pitched in one relief inning in the fourth. She surrendered two earned runs.
The game also served as senior night for the Lady Bears. Switzer, Wareham, Nadia Mora and Lynnzi Knapp were all recognized before the game. Townsend spoke highly of his team’s leadership.
“We have four seniors and one junior,” Townsend said. “Everyone else is playing varsity softball for the first time. My four seniors have done a great job at leading by example and being leaders for this team.”
The Bears may only have one win under its belt, but Townsend said he can see the improvements.
“We started the year averaging five or six errors a game,” Townsend said. “Now we are down to one or two. Teams are starting to have to earn their runs against us. That gives our pitchers confidence and our fielders confidence.”
The Bears will try to come away with another win as they host Warsaw today. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.