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Softball

Allison Cox no-hits Southeastern 9-0

04/29/04

Allison Cox pitched a no-hitter and struck out 17 as Zane Trace blanked Southeastern 9-0 to remain unbeaten in Scioto Valley Conference softball Thursday evening.

Westfall and Paint Valley split a doubleheader with Westfall taking the opener 14-1 and Paint Valley the second game 10-8 and Unioto downed Piketon 8-5.

Zane Trace 9, Southeastern 0

Cox notched her 12th win in 14 decisions -- allowing just two walks -- and Amanda Renner led the offense with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate, driving in three runs.

Jessica Graves was 2-for-3 for the Lady Pioneers (15-3, 11-0) and Shayna Cox belted a triple.

R H E

Southeastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 0 3

Zane Trace 3 0 2 1 0 3 x -- 9 11 0

WP -- Allison Cox (12-2); LP -- Kinzer

Westfall 14-8, Paint Valley 1-10

Kari and Randi Rodgers drove in four runs each as the Lady Mustangs took the opener behind the five-hit pitching of Brittany Mullins.

Kari Rodgers belted a bases-loaded triple in a five-run first inning and Randi Rodgers was 4-for-5 with two triples as Westfall (7-10, 4-6) hammered out 14 hits.

Amanda Angles, Beth Reed and Jessica Rodgers had two hits apiece for Westfall, including a triple by Reed.

Paint Valley (2-12, 2-9) took the second game with an array of 13 hits -- three by Chelsey Wright and two by Kacie Brown. Winner Ashley Pierce drove in two runs to help her own cause.

R H E

Westfall 5 4 1 0 0 1 3 -- 14 14 2

Paint Valley 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 -- 1 5 4

WP -- Brittany Mullins (4-5); LP -- Dailey

R H E

Paint Valley 0 7 0 1 0 0 2 -- 10 13 4

Westfall 1 0 1 1 5 0 0 -- 8 7 5

WP -- Ashley Pierce (2-7); LP -- Emily Graham (0-2)

Lady Huntsmen win 10th straight

04/28/04

Huntington defeated Piketon 6-1 Wednesday evening to stretch the Lady Huntsmen's winning streak to 10 straight and remain just one game back of league-leading Zane Trace in Scioto Valley Conference softball.

Zane Trace remained unbeaten in conference play with a 9-0 win over Paint Valley, Westfall slipped past Unioto 8-7 on a game-ending double play and Southeastern took advantage of walks and errors to down Adena 6-4.

Huntington 6, Piketon 1

Lindsey Grubb tripled home two runs and scored on a double by Amanda Doyle to give the Lady Huntsmen a 3-0 lead in the third inning.

Tiffany Carroll, Doyle and Samantha Messer drove in runs in a three-run fifth for the Lady Huntsmen (10-2, 7-1) and Daphene Butcher did the rest with a two-hit, nine-strikeout performance for her ninth win.

The only hits off Butcher were singles by Hilary Days and Hope Robbins.

Doyle went 3-for-3 for Huntington, Grubb 2-for-2, Carroll 2-for-3 and freshman Ashley Dearth added a double.

R H E

Piketon 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 -- 1 2 2

Huntington 0 0 3 0 3 0 x -- 6 10 3

WP -- Daphene Butcher (9-2); LP -- Ali Smith

Zane Trace 9, Paint Valley 0

Allison Cox struck out the first 12 batters she faced and finished with 13 strikeouts before Cassi Wertman finished up with two strikeouts in the seventh inning.

Cox also drove in six runs -- clubbing two-run homers in the third and fifth innings -- and Katie Bost chipped in with three singles for the Lady Pioneers (14-3, 10-0).

Shayna Cox, Paige Halley and Wertman added two hits apiece as Zane Trace rapped out 13 hits.

Amy Bolles and Ashley Pierce singled for Paint Valley's only hits.

R H E

Paint Valley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 2 3

Zane Trace 0 0 2 1 5 1 x -- 9 13 0

WP -- Allison Cox (11-2); LP -- Ashley Pierce (1-7)

Westfall 8, Unioto 7

After scoring two runs in the top of the seventh to pull within a run of Westfall, Unioto had two runners aboard with one out when centerfielder Beth Reed scooped up a hit and fired a strike to home plate to nail a runner trying to score.

That was the second out of the inning and the Lady Mustangs' completed a double play when the second runner was thrown out attempting to advance to third.

Reed also contributed two hits to Westfall's 11-hit offense and scored two runs.

Jessica Link drove in three runs for Westfall (6-9, 3-5) with two hits, including a two-run homer in a three-run fifth inning, and Kari Rodgers had two hits and drove in two runs. Chelsea Popowski was 3-for-3 for the Lady Mustangs.

Amanda Preston and Heather Keplinger had two hits each for Unioto (8-10, 5-4) and Sara Sullivan contributed a two-run single in a three-run first inning for the Lady Shermans.

R H E

Unioto 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 -- 7 7 2

Westfall 1 1 1 2 3 0 x -- 8 11 2

WP -- Kaylyn Dick (3-3); Jessica Perkins

Southeastern 6, Adena 4

Southeastern (5-8, 4-6) had only three hits off a trio of Adena pitchers, but the Lady Panthers were helped by eight errors, 11 walks, six passed balls and three wild pitches.

J. C. Hewitt, Terra Kinzer and Kacie Seitz singled for the three Southeastern hits.

Whitney Houser had two hits for the Lady Warriors (2-11, 2-7), including fourth inning solo homerun.

R H E

Southeastern 1 0 0 0 1 2 2 -- 6 3 2

Adena 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 -- 4 5 8

WP -- Julie Patterson (5-6); LP -- Katie Roush (2-9)

Paint Valley corrals first victory

04/27/04

Paint Valley threw out the potential tying run at the plate in the seventh inning to preserve a 7-6 win over Piketon in Scioto Valley Conference softball Tuesday evening.

The win ended a 10-game losing streak for the Lady Bearcats while Piketon suffered its first loss since the death of centerfielder Melissa Short in an auto accident last week.

Piketon jumped on starter Tiffany Dailey for five first inning runs, but Dailey and Ashley Pierce combined to hold the Redstreaks in check the rest of the way.

Hilary Days led Piketon (4-5, 4-4) with three hits including a blast in the seventh inning that was turned into the final out on a relay throw to home. Sheena Spurgeon added a pair of hits.

Dailey and Maggie Cooper had two hits apiece for the Lady Bearcats (1-10, 1-7).

R H E

Piketon 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 -- 6 7 5

Paint Valley 1 0 2 1 0 3 x -- 7 6 3

WP -- Ashley Pierce (1-6); LP -- Ali Smith

Butcher stymies Paint Valley

04/26/04

Huntington's Daphene Butcher struck out 13 of the 15 batters she faced and no-hit Paint Valley through five innings of the Lady Huntsmen's 15-4 win in Scioto Valley Conference softball Monday evening.

Southeastern's Julie Patterson blanked Westfall 3-0 on a three-hitter, league-leading Zane Trace downed Unioto 6-2 and Piketon took advantage of 13 walks and seven errors to outscore Adena 14-12.

Huntington 15, Paint Valley 4

Butcher, who left after five innings, elevated her record to 8-2 as Huntington (9-2, 6-1) stretched its winning streak to nine straight since opening the season with a pair of losses.

Huntington scored three runs in the second and fourth innings and put the game out of reach with an eight-run sixth.

Nikkita Carroll, Butcher and Amber Kerns led the Lady Huntsmen with two hits apiece with Butcher and Kerns swatting doubles. Kerns also tripled in her two official trips to the plate.

Maggie Cooper singled twice for the Lady Bearcats (0-10, 0-7).

R H E

Huntington 0 3 0 3 0 8 1 -- 15 9 3

Paint Valley 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 -- 4 6 7

WP -- Daphene Butcher (8-2); LP -- Ashley Pierce (0-6)

Southeastern 3, Westfall

The Lady Panthers (4-8, 3-6) have reeled off three straight wins after losing eight of their first nine games.

Patterson won a duel with Westfall's Graham, who allowed just two hits -- singles by Patterson and Nikki Young.

Young drove in two of Southeastern's three runs -- scoring Patterson on a first inning ground out and driving in the second run in the third inning with her hit.

Jessica Link doubled and Randi Rodgers and Beth Reed singled for the Lady Mustangs (5-9, 2-5).

R H E

Westfall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 3 0

Southeastern 1 0 1 1 0 0 x -- 3 2 1

WP -- Julie Patterson (4-6); LP -- Graham

Zane Trace 6, Unioto 2

Allison Cox scattered six hits in posting her 10th win in 12 decisions as the Lady Pioneers (13-3, 9-0) continue to lead Huntington by one game.

Cox walked none and struck out nine and belted a two-run homer in the third for one of her two hits.

Paige Halley contributed three singles and Katie Bost a pair of one-base hits for Zane Trace.

Lead Jadwin had three of Unioto's six hits off Cox and Sara Sullivan two.

R H E

Zane Trace 1 1 2 0 0 2 0 -- 6 12 1

Unioto 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 -- 2 6 1

WP -- Allison Cox (10-2); LP -- Jessica Perkins

Piketon 14, Adena 12

Adena outhit Piketon 16-2, but the Lady Redstreaks took advantage of seven Adena errors and 13 walks.

Piketon (4-4, 4-3) got singles from Hope Robbins and Sheena Spurgeon in an eight-run first as Adena (2-10, 2-6) committed three errors in the inning.

Adena's Katie Roush took over the pitching with two outs in the first inning and allowed the Lady Redstreaks no hits the rest of the way.

Jennifer Fout and Roush had three hits each for Adena and Tara Knauff, Ryan Davis and Whitney Houser two apiece. Catherine Glandon contributed a double and three runs batted in and Knauff also had a double for the Lady Warriors.

R H E

Piketon 8 0 0 3 0 2 1 -- 14 2 2

Adena 0 4 0 0 1 3 4 -- 12 16 7

WP -- Ali Smith; LP -- Catherine Glandon

CHS edges Zane Trace 6-5

04/24/04

Chillicothe scored the winning run on a wild pitch to edge Zane Trace 6-5 and gain the finals of a softball tournament at Northwest Saturday before losing to the tournament hosts 6-4.

Earlier, Zane Trace had blanked Wheelersburg 4-0 and Chillicothe had beaten the Lady Pirates 4-3.

In other non-league action Saturday, Logan Elm swept a doubleheader from Adena 12-0 and 12-1.

Chillicothe 6, Zane Trace 5

Chillicothe's Ashley Vollmar and Katie Hurff led off the bottom of the seventh inning with singles to set up a two-run rally that pinned the defeat on Zane Trace ace Allison Cox.

Alicia Brokaw singled home Vollmar with the tying run and the winner scored on a two-out wild pitch by Cox.

Chillicothe (8-7) had tied the game at 4-4 with a three-run sixth inning -- highlighted by Desiree Detty's two-run triple -- only to have Zane Trace retake the lead with a run in the top of the seventh.

Rebekah Daughers led Chillicothe with three hits and Hurff added a pair of singles while Cox was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles for the Lady Pioneers (12-3).

R H E

Zane Trace 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 -- 5 6 2

Chillicothe 1 0 0 0 0 3 2 -- 6 11 2

WP -- Ashley Vollmar (4-4); LP -- Allison Cox (9-2)

Northwest 6, Chillicothe 4

The Lady Mohawks' Ellis drove in four runs with a pair of homeruns -- a game-deciding three-run blast in the bottom of the sixth inning and a solo shot earlier in the championship game.

The two teams advanced to the final by winning two games apiece in pool play of three teams each.

Catcher Krystal Short led CHS with three hits and Ashley Vollmar added two hits and Katie Hurff a double.

R H E

Chillicothe 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 -- 4 7 2

Northwest 0 0 2 1 0 3 x -- 6 8 1

LP -- Whitney Diehl (2-3)

Chillicothe 4, Wheelersburg 3

Alicia Brokaw singled to open the bottom of the seventh inning and scored the winning run with two outs when the Lady Pirates attempted to throw the Chillicothe runner out at the plate.

Brokaw's hit was her second of the game. Desiree Detty also had two hits for the Lady Cavaliers and Shaina Vanderpool chipped in with a double.

Chillicothe outhit the Lady Pirates 10-4, but five CHS errors aided the Wheelersburg cause.

R H E

Wheelersburg 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 -- 3 4 3

Chillicothe 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 -- 4 10 5

WP -- Ashley Vollmar

Zane Trace 4, Wheelersburg 0

Allison Cox blanked the Lady Pirates on three hits as she fanned 14 and walked only one in recording her ninth win of the season.

Cox, Amanda Renner and Paige Halley doubled for the Lady Pioneers with Halley driving in two runs and Cox going 2-for-3.

R H E

Zane Trace 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 -- 4 7 1

Wheelersburg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 3 1

WP -- Allison Cox

Logan Elm 12-12, Adena 0-1

Thirteen walks, a hit-batsman and five errors led to Adena's downfall in the first game as the Lady Warriors outhit Logan Elm 6-4.

Katie Roush doubled and singled to lead the Adena offense.

Whitney Houser and Mahle Mitchell singled for Adena's only hits of the five-inning second game that was decided with a 10-run first inning outburst by the Lady Braves.

R H E

Adena 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 6 5

Logan Elm 3 0 4 1 3 1 x -- 12 4 0

LP -- Katie Roush (2-7)

R H E

Adena 1 0 0 0 0 -- 1 2 1

Logan Elm 10 0 1 1 x -- 12 5 1

LP -- Tara Knauff (0-1)

Southeastern downs Western 4-2

04/20/04

Southeastern scored the winning runs with two outs in the sixth inning for a 4-2 win over Latham Western in non-conference softball Tuesday evening.

Western retired the first two Lady Panther batters in the sixth inning before Kaci Seitz lined a single between third and shortstop. Terra Kinzer scored Seitz with a double to break a 2-2 tie and Megan Patterson singled to left field to bring home Kinzer.

Kinzer went 3-for-3 with two doubles and Patterson and Seitz had two singles each.

Julie Patterson limited the Lady Indians to four hits while walking two and striking out six. Both Western runs were unearned.

R H E

Southeastern 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 -- 4 7 2

Western 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 -- 2 4 2

WP -- Julie Patterson (3-5)

Zane Trace blanks Adena 15-0

04/19/04

Zane Trace blanked Adena 15-0 Monday evening to remain unbeaten in Scioto Valley Conference softball.

Huntington scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to defeat Westfall 11-8 and remain one game back of Zane Trace while Southeastern chalked up its second straight SVC win with a 4-2 upset of Piketon and Unioto got by Paint Valley 7-5.

Zane Trace 15, Adena 0

Zane Trace scored seven runs in the first inning to provide Allison Cox all the support she needed in recording her eighth win in nine decisions.

Cox -- who belted a two-run homer in the second inning -- struck out 11 in four innings of work before leaving the mound. She also had a single for two of her team's six hits.

The Lady Pioneers (11-2, 8-0) took advantage of 10 walks.

Liza Hirsch's two singles led Adena (2-7, 2-5), which was playing its first home game of the season. Earlier home games had been moved to opponent's fields while work was on-going on the Adena field.

R H E

Zane Trace 7 2 0 3 0 0 3 -- 15 6 0

Adena 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 3 2

WP -- Allison Cox (8-1); Katie Roush

Southeastern 4, Piketon 2

Julie Patterson, Annie Cooper and Nikki Young singled in a four-run third inning to back Patterson's four-hit pitching.

Cooper had two singles to lead the Lady Panthers (2-8, 2-6) while Sheena Spurgeon tripled for Piketon (3-4, 3-3).

Patterson walked four and struck out six for her second victory as each team committed one error.

R H E

Piketon 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 -- 2 4 1

Southeastern 0 0 4 0 0 0 x -- 4 5 1

WP -- Julie Patterson (2-5); LP -- Ali Smith

Huntington 11, Westfall 8 (8 innings)

Lindsey Grubb started a three-run eighth inning for the Lady Huntsmen with a double and freshman Lisa Doberstyn delivered a clutch two-run triple and scored an insurance run on a passed ball.

The lead seesawed with Huntington (8-2, 5-1) taking an 8-5 lead with a four-run seventh. However, Westfall (5-8, 2-4) answered with three in the bottom of the frame to send the game into an extra inning.

The Lady Huntsmen -- winners of eight straight since a pair of season-opening losses -- were led by Grubb, Doberstyn and Amber Kerns with two hits apiece. Grubb drove in three runs and Doberstyn two.

Westfall's Jessica Link, Jessica Rodgers, Beth Reed and Brittany Mullins had two hits apiece and Randi Rodgers a bases-loaded triple that tied the game in the seventh.

R H E

Huntington 0 0 1 3 0 0 4 3 -- 11 11 3

Westfall 0 0 0 1 3 1 3 0 -- 8 12 6

WP -- Daphene Butcher (7-2); LP -- Brittany Mullins (3-5)

Unioto 7, Paint Valley 5

Chelsey Wright's two-run triple highlighted a five-run fourth inning to give Paint Valley a 5-4 lead, but Unioto responded with two runs in the top of the fifth to regain the lead and held on for the win.

Amanda Nichols and Sara Sullivan had doubles for the Lady Shermans (8-6, 5-2).

R H E

Unioto 2 0 0 2 2 0 1 -- 7 6 3

Paint Valley 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 -- 5 8 2

WP -- Jessica Perkins; LP -- Tiffany Dailey

Huntington, Westfall sweep

04/17/04

Huntington and Westfall used stingy pitching to record doubleheader sweeps in non-conference softball Saturday.

The Huntsmen took a pair from Eastern Brown 9-4 and 5-3 as Daphene Butcher and freshman Ashlea Dearth combined to give up just five hits. Westfall's Kaylyn Dick and Brittany Mullins blanked Washington CH 6-0, 3-0 on five hits.

Previously unbeaten Zane Trace invited Elyria to Kinnikinnick and wound up with 1-0 and 13-0 losses to the Division I power, Southeastern lost 5-0 and 17-1 at Leesburg Fairfield and Hillsboro swept Paint Valley 7-5, 13-7.

Huntington 9-5, Eastern Brown 4-3

Butcher pitched a one-hitter in the opener and two innings of the nightcap for a save as Huntington ran its winning streak to seven straight.

Freshman Ashlea Dearth notched her first varsity victory in the second game.

Eastern Brown's only hit off Butcher in the first game was a fourth inning single as she struck out 13 and walked two. Eastern Brown has been ranked No. 6 in Division III softball.

Butcher, Tiffany Carroll, Lindsey Grubb, Samantha Messer and Lisa Doberstyn had two hits apiece for Huntington (7-2). Grubb -- who had two doubles in the second game -- doubled for one of her two hits.

Messer also had two hits in the second game and Amber Kerns tripled and drove in two runs.

R H E

Eastern Brown 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 -- 4 1 3

Huntington 2 2 2 1 0 2 x -- 9 11 2

WP -- Daphene Butcher (6-2)

R H E

Eastern Brown 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 3 4 2

Huntington 0 0 2 1 2 0 x -- 5 8 2

WP -- Ashlea Dearth (1-0)

Westfall 6-3, Washington CH 0-0

Brittany Mullins -- who tossed a five-inning no-hitter in her previous start -- shut out Washington CH on two hits in the nightcap after Kaylyn Dick spun a three-hit shutout in the opener.

The Lady Blue Lions entered the twinbill with an 8-0 record.

Kari Rodgers was the star of the opener with two hits and triggered a key 2-3-2 double play in the fourth inning. She scored three runs and drove in another.

Randi Rodgers delivered a two-run, two-out double in the third inning for all the runs Mullins needed in the second game. Jessica Rodgers had two hits for the Lady Mustangs (5-7), who were errorless in the twinbill.

R H E

Westfall 0 2 0 0 0 3 1 -- 6 6 0

Washington CH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 3 3

WP -- Kaylyn Dick (2-3)

R H E

Westfall 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 -- 3 9 0

Washington CH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 2 0

WP -- Brittany Mullins (3-4)

Elyria 1-13, Zane Trace 0-0

The lead-off batter for Elyria doubled off the Lady Pioneers' Allison Cox in the opener and scored the only run of the game as the visitors ended Zane Trace's 10-game winning streak.

Cox struck out 13 and walked one in having her personal seven-game winning streak ended.

Katie Bost was 2-for-4 for Zane Trace and Cox, Jessica Graves and Rylie Hill had singles.

Elyria -- featuring a lineup of six seniors and three juniors -- outhit Zane Trace 14-4 in taking the nightcap to hand senior Tiffany Manasco the loss. Seven of the 13 runs off Manasco were unearned, courtesy of nine Zane Trace errors.

R H E

Elyria 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 1 5 0

Zane Trace 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 5 0

WP -- L. Nunn; LP -- Allison Cox (7-1)

R H E

Elyria 6 1 2 0 0 1 3 -- 13 14 1

Zane Trace 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 4 9

WP -- Boros; LP -- Tiffany Manasco (3-1)

Leesburg Fairfield 5-17, Southeastern 0-1

Southeastern was limited to five hits in the two games with Terra Kinzer and Nikki Young hitting safetly in both games.

Annie Cooper also had a hit in the first game as Kinzer suffered the loss in her first pitching start.

R H

Southeastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 3

Leesburg Fairfield 0 1 0 0 3 1 x -- 5 4

LP -- Terra Kinzer (0-1)

R H

Southeastern 1 2

Leesburg Fairfield 0

LP -- Amy Johnson (0-2)

Hillsboro 7-13, Paint Valley 5-7

The first inning was not kind to Paint Valley as Hillsboro scored five runs in the first frame of the opener and six in the nightcap.

Paint Valley's rocky starts began with a pair of walks and two hit-batsmen by Hillsboro's first four batters. Two errors later in the inning produced the Lady Indians' five-run first in the opener.

Maggie Cooper led Paint Valley with three hits and Meggan Ward and Tiffany Dailey added two each with one of Ward's two hits being a two-bagger. Paint Valley outhit Hillsboro 9-2.

Three more errors -- combined with three hits and two walks -- led to Hillsboro's six-run first in the nightcap.

Ward was 4-for-4 for the Lady Bearcats (0-10) and Cooper and Dailey contributed two more hits each.

R H E

Paint Valley 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 -- 5 9 3

Hillsboro 5 0 1 1 0 0 x -- 7 2 1

WP -- Estle; LP -- Tiffany Dailey

R H E

Paint Valley 1 0 0 0 2 0 4 -- 7 10 3

Hillsboro 6 1 3 0 3 0 x -- 13 10 2

WP -- Juillerat; LP -- Ashley Pierce

Lady Pioneers stay unbeaten 5-1

04/16/04

Unbeaten Zane Trace completed the first round of Scioto Valley Conference softball with a 5-1 win over Piketon Friday evening behind sophomore Allison Cox.

Brittany Mullins pitched her second no-hitter in less than a week as Westfall blanked Adena 16-0 and Southeastern ended its victory drought with a 12-4 win over Paint Valley. Huntington thumped Western 22-0 in a non-league outing.

Zane Trace 5, Piketon 1

Cox continued a string of dominating performances that has now reached seven straight wins as she struck out 16 Redstreaks and walked none, allowing three hits.

Cox also swatted a pair of doubles in two official trips to the plate while Katie Bost chipped in with three singles and Jessica Graves a pair of singles.

Ali Smith doubled for one of Piketon's three hits.

R H E

Piketon 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 -- 1 3 2

Zane Trace 0 2 1 0 2 0 x -- 5 8 1

WP -- Allison Cox (7-0); LP -- Ali Smith (3-2)

Westfall 16, Adena 0 (5 innings)

"This was a great team win for the kids," Lady Mustang coach Jay Miller said of his team's 10-hit support of Mullins' no-hitter.

The Westfall hurler struck out three and walked two.

Westfall (3-7, 2-3) was helped by six Adena errors, eight walks and two hit-batsmen. The Lady Mustangs packed six of their 10 hits into an 11-run second inning to put the game out of reach early.

Randi Rodgers doubled, singled and drove in two runs for Westfall and Amanda Angles was 2-for-2 and scored three runs. Jessica Rodgers doubled home two runs in the team's second inning explosion and finished with three RBI.

R H E

Adena 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 0 6

Westfall 3 11 1 1 x -- 16 10 1

WP -- Brittany Mullins (2-4); Katie Roush

Southeastern 12, Paint Valley 4

Southeastern broke the game open early, scoring eight runs in the third inning on a combination of six hits and three Paint Valley errors.

Eight of the 12 Southeastern runs were unearned as the result of seven Paint Valley miscues.

Nikki Young, Seitz and Megan Patterson had two hits apiece for the Lady Panthers (1-6, 1-6) while Meggan Ward pounded out four hits and Emmalee McKell two for Paint Valley (0-6, 0-5). Ward doubled twice and Seitz, Annie Cooper and Megan Patterson once each.

R H E

Southeastern 1 0 8 1 0 1 1 -- 12 9 3

Paint Valley 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 -- 4 7 7

WP -- Julie Patterson; LP -- Ashley Pierce (0-4)

Huntington wins fourth straight 4-1

04/15/04

Huntington -- which opened the season 0-2 -- won its fourth straight game Thursday evening 4-1 over Unioto to remain one game back of unbeaten Zane Trace in Scioto Valley Conference softball.

Zane Trace blanked Paint Valley 8-0 and Adena overcame 11 walks to edge Southeastern 12-9.

South Webster defeated Piketon 4-2 and Greenfield McClain slipped past Westfall 9-8 in a pair of non-league games.

Huntington 4, Unioto 1

Neither pitcher issued a walk as Huntington's Daphene Butcher bested the Lady Shermans' Jessica Perkins on a three-run third inning.

Amber Kerns and Shandra Kellough singled to open the Huntington third and ignite the Lady Huntsmen's three-run outburst.

Lindsey Grubb had given Huntington (4-2, 4-1) a 1-0 lead with a first inning single.

Freshman Samantha Messer had three of Huntington's seven hits off Perkins, including a double. Butcher allowed just three hits.

R H E

Huntington 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 -- 4 7 3

Unioto 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 -- 1 3 4

WP -- Daphene Butcher (4-2); LP -- Jessica Perkins (4-2)

Zane Trace 8, Paint Valley 0

The unbeaten Lady Pioneers (9-0, 6-0) capitalized on nine walks as five of their eight runs were scored by players who had reached base via the free pass.

Zane Trace scored three runs in the first and fourth innings to enable senior Tiffany Manasco to record her third victory.

Rylie Hill tripled and Allison Cox doubled for two of Zane Trace's five hits off Ashley Pierce. Manasco limited the Lady Bearcats (0-5, 0-4) to four hits.

R H E

Zane Trace 3 0 0 3 1 0 1 -- 8 5 0

Paint Valley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 4 1

WP -- Tiffany Manasco (3-0); LP -- Ashley Pierce (0-3)

Adena 12, Southeastern 9

Adena outhit the Lady Panthers 11-2, but Southeastern took advantage of 11 walks to keep the game close.

Katie Roush doubled and singled twice to lead Adena (2-5, 2-3) while Ryan Davis added three singles and Liza Hirsch a pair of singles.

Megan Patterson doubled and Nikki Young singled for the two hits for Southeastern (0-6, 0-6), which hurt its own cause with five errors.

R H E

Adena 1 0 0 2 2 6 1 -- 12 11 1

Southeastern 2 0 1 0 1 5 0 -- 9 2 5

WP -- Katie Roush; LP -- Julie Patterson (0-5)

Greenfield McClain 9, Westfall 8

Greenfield McClain scored seven runs in the second inning with the help of three walks and two hit-batsmen and then held on for the victory.

Jessica Rodgers and Kari Rodgers were each 2-for-4 for the Lady Mustangs (2-7) and drove in two runs apiece.

R H E

Westfall 1 0 3 4 0 0 0 -- 8 6 5

Greenfield McClain 0 7 0 0 1 1 x -- 9 5 4

WP -- Wisecup; LP -- Kaylyn Dick (1-3)

South Webster 4, Piketon 2

South Webster outhit the Lady Redstreaks 10-4 and took advantage of five Piketon errors.

Sheena Spurgeon, Ali Smith, Missy Short and Laranda Riley singled for Piketon's four hits.

R H E

Piketon 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 -- 2 4 5

South Webster 2 0 0 1 0 1 x -- 4 10 1

LP -- Tori Conley (0-1)

Zane Trace remains unbeaten

04/14/04

Allison Cox tossed a one-hitter as Zane Trace remained unbeaten with a 9-0 win at Westfall in Scioto Valley Conference softball Wednesday evening.

Unioto remained a game back of Zane Trace in the league race with a 13-0 win over Adena and Huntington blanked Southeastern 7-0 on a one-hitter by Daphene Butcher to remain in contention. Piketon and Paint Valley were postponed because of wet grounds.

Zane Trace 9, Westfall 0

Kari Rodgers' clean single to right field with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning spoiled the no-hit bid by Cox, but Zane Trace (8-0, 5-0) remains unbeaten in its quest for back-to-back SVC softball championships.

Cox walked one and struck out seven and led the Lady Pioneers at the plate with a 3-for-4 performance that included a triple and two RBI.

Westfall's Brittany Mullins gave up seven hits, but two walks and three hit-batsmen came back to haunt the Lady Mustang pitcher. Five of the nine Zane Trace runs were a direct result of the walks and hit batters.

Katie Bost had two hits for Zane Trace.

R H E

Zane Trace 2 1 1 3 0 0 2 -- 9 7 0

Westfall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 1 6

WP -- Cox (6-0); LP -- Brittany Mullins (1-4)

Unioto 13, Adena 0

Unioto scored six runs in the first inning and combined errorless defense with no walks by winner Jessica Perkins to keep Adena from scoring.

Leah Jadwin and Heather Keplinger had two hits apiece for the Lady Shermans (6-3, 4-1) and Roush a pair of hits for the Lady Warriors (1-5, 1-3).

Unioto capitalized on six Adena errors and recorded eight stolen bases.

R H E

Adena 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 6 6

Unioto 6 2 1 1 0 3 x -- 13 5 0

WP -- Jessica Perkins (4-1); LP -- Katie Roush

Huntington 7, Southeastern 0

Lindsey Grubb, Amanda Doyle, Samantha Messer and Amber Kerns had run-scoring singles as Huntington opened with five runs in the first inning.

Daphene Butcher and Nikkita Carroll also had hits in the inning as the Lady Huntsmen (3-2, 3-1) bunched six of their eight hits in the inning.

Butcher and Grubb had two hits apiece while Annie Cooper doubled to lead off the second inning for Southeastern's only hit of the game off Butcher.

Butcher struck out 13 and walked three while Julie Patterson fanned three and walked two for the Lady Panthers (0-5, 0-5).

R H E

Southeastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 1 3

Huntington 5 0 0 0 2 0 x -- 7 8 0

WP -- Daphene Butcher (3-2); Julie Patterson

Westfall's Mullins tosses no-hitter

04/10/04

Westfall's Brittany Mullins pitched a no-hitter to give the Lady Mustangs a split of a doubleheader with a 6-2 win over Lynchburg Clay Saturday after dropping the opener 11-10 in nine innings.

Unbeaten Zane Trace took a pair from Waverly 13-0 and 26-2, Unioto defeated Oak Hill 21-10, 11-2 and Greenfield McClain swept Adena 6-3, 15-5.

Lynchburg Clay 11-2, Westfall 10-6

Mullins picked up her first victory of the season in the nightcap after suffering one-run losses in each of her first three starts and sophomore Jessica Link swatted a bases-loaded triple in the fourth to highlight a four-run inning.

Mullins -- the lone senior on the Westfall roster -- struck out five and walked two.

Beth Reed was 2-for-4 with a run batted in and two runs scored for the Lady Mustangs (2-5) and Kari Rodgers singled hkome runs in the first and sixth innings.

Reed was 3-for-5 and scored twice in the opener, Randi Rodgers was 2-for-2 and drove in a pair of runs and Kari Rodgers highlighted a six-run second inning with a two-run single.

R H E

Lynchburg Clay 2 0 4 0 4 0 0 0 1 -- 11 6 3

Westfall 0 6 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 -- 10 9 5

LP -- Kaylyn Dick

R H E

Lynchburg Clay 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 -- 2 0 3

Westfall 1 0 0 4 0 1 x -- 6 4 5

WP -- Brittany Mullins (1-3)

Zane Trace 13-26, Waverly 0-2

Allison Cox opened the doubleheader with a one-hitter for the Lady Pioneers and Tiffany Manasco allowed just five hits in the nightcap.

Cox struck out 19 and walked one. The only Waverly hit was by Childers.

Cassi Wertman and Cox were each 3-for-5 with a double apiece and Amanda Renner was 2-for-5 with a double and three runs batted in. Wertman drove in four runs and Cox two.

Anna Gray was 5-for-6 in the nightcap and drove in eight runs for all the support Manasco needed. The Zane Trace hurler struck out eight and walked two in posting her second win.

Wertman, Rylie Hill, Paige Halley and Cox all had three hits apiece for Zane Trace (7-0) and Renner two hits, including a triple. Wertman drove in three runs and Halley four. Halley had two doubles and Hill a double and a triple.

D. Taylor had two of Waverly's five hits off Manasco.

R H E

Zane Trace 4 3 0 5 1 0 0 -- 13 11 0

Waverly 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 1 4

WP -- Cox (5-0); LP -- Childers

Zane Trace 0 2 2 6 0 3 13 -- 26

Waverly 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 -- 2

WP -- Manasco (2-0); LP -- Lacy

Zane Trace blanks Southeastern

04/08/04

Zane Trace recorded its fourth shutout of the season with a 16-0 win at Southeastern Thursday evening to remain unbeaten in Scioto Valley Conference softball.

Huntington -- which opened the season with two straight losses -- won its second straight game 5-4 over Westfall and Unioto

outlasted previously unbeaten Piketon 17-11.

Zane Trace 16, Southeastern 0 (6 innings)

The Lady Pioneers (5-0, 4-0) have allowed just one run in five games, but this time it wasn't sophomore ace Allison Cox putting up the goose eggs.

Transfer Tiffany Manasco -- making her first start for Zane Trace -- blanked the Lady Panthers (0-4, 0-4) on five hits and no walks and fanned six with pinpoint control of an array of pitches.

Zane Trace scored three runs in each of the first two innings in a game called after six innings by the 15-run rule.

Cox had three of Zane Trace's 11 hits off three Southeastern pitchers, including a double, and fellow sophomore Rylie Hill collected two hits, including a triple. The Lady Pioneers were aided by eight Lady Panther errors.

Terra Kinzer and Nikki Young had two singles apiece off Manasco.

R H E

Zane Trace 3 3 0 2 1 7 -- 16 11 0

Southeastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 5 8

Unioto 17, Piketon 11

The Lady Redstreaks (3-1, 3-1) contributed to their own downfall with nine errors, seven of them throwing miscues.

Piketon outhit Unioto 15-13, but the Lady Shermans (3-3, 3-1) committed just one error behind winner Jessica Perkins.

Lindsey Dix led the Unioto offense with a double and two singles. Lora Emerine added three singles and Perkins a pair of singles.

Losing pitcher Ali Smith had two singles and a three-run homer for the Lady Redstreaks. The round-tripper highlighted a five-run fifth inning for Piketon. Hilary Days contributed a triple and two singles and drove in a pair of runs while Missy Short and Whitney Jordan had two singles apiece.

R H E

Unioto 0 0 3 6 4 1 3 -- 17 13 1

Piketon 2 0 0 2 5 0 2 -- 11 15 9

WP -- Jessica Perkins (3-1); LP -- Ali Smith (3-1)

Huntington 5, Westfall 4

Trailing 3-1, Westfall (1-4, 1-2) tied the game in the top of the fifth inning when Kari Rodgers advanced all the way to third base on a Huntington misplay in the outfield.

Randi Rodgers tripled to score Kari Rodgers and Randi Rodgers scored the tying run on another Huntington error.

However, Huntington (2-2, 2-1) regained the lead with two runs in the bottom of the inning when Daphene Butcher and Tiffany Carroll reached base on an error and a walk, respectively. Butcher scored the go-ahead run on a fielder's choice on a grounder hit by Lindsey Grubb and Amanda Doyle's single scored Carroll.

After Westfall pulled within 5-4 with a single run in the top of the sixth, Butcher set the Lady Mustangs down 1-2-3 in the seventh to preserve the win.

Amanda Angles and Kari Rodgers had two singles apiece for Westfall and Chelsea Popowski doubled.

R H E

Westfall 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 -- 4 6 3

Huntington 2 1 0 0 2 0 x -- 5 5 3

WP -- Daphene Butcher (2-2); LP -- Brittany Mullins (0-3)

Zane Trace, Piketon stay unbeaten

04/07/04

Zane Trace and Piketon remained unbeaten Wednesday evening as the defending champion Lady Pioneers blanked Unioto 2-0 and Piketon defeated Adena 20-4 in Scioto Valley Conference softball.

Westfall and Huntington picked up their first victories of the season as the Lady Huntsmen's Daphene Butcher collared Paint Valley 3-0 with a near perfect outing and Westfall was a 9-4 winner over Southeastern.

Zane Trace 2, Unioto 0

Sara Sullivan's second inning single spoiled a second straight no-hitter by Zane Trace sophomore Allison Cox, now 4-0 in quest of a second straight player of the year award in SVC softball.

Cox struck out 14 in a pitching duel with Amanda Preston, who gave up just five hits for Unioto (2-3, 2-1).

Anna Gray was 2-for-2 for Zane Trace (4-0, 3-0) with a double and a single and drove in one of the Lady Pioneer runs.

R H E

Unioto 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 1 1

Zane Trace 0 0 0 0 1 1 x -- 2 5 1

WP -- Allison Cox (4-0); LP -- Amanda Preston (0-2)

Piketon 20, Adena 4 (6 innings)

Adena led 4-2 after two and a-half innings, but a nine-run Piketon third inning took all the suspense out of a game that was delayed at the start when Piketon traveled to Adena while the Lady Warriors were waiting in Piketon.

The game -- originally scheduled to be played at Adena -- had been moved to Piketon while work continues on the Adena diamond.

Piketon returned home in time to win its third straight game -- all in the SVC.

The game was halted with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning by the 15-run rule.

Ali Smith posted her third straight mound victory and drove in three runs with a pair of singles. Missy Short and Whitney Jordan also had two hits apiece for the Redstreaks.

Evyn Gray and Katie Roush had two hits apiece for Adena (1-2, 1-2) and Leah Hirsch a triple.

R H

Adena 1 1 2 0 0 0 -- 4 5

Piketon 2 0 9 4 0 5 -- 20 11

WP -- Ali Smith (3-0); LP -- Katie Roush (1-2)

Huntington 3, Paint Valley 0

The only base runner to reach base against Butcher came in the third inning when a third strike eluded the Huntington catcher, who was then charged with interference in an attempt to throw out the runner.

Butcher struck out 14 and scored the first run of the game. The Lady Huntsmen junior singled up the middle in the first inning, stole second and third and scored on Lindsey Grubb's sacrifice.

Paint Valley pitcher Ashley Pierce doled out six hits -- all singles.

R H E

Paint Valley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 0 1

Huntington 1 0 1 1 0 0 x -- 3 6 1

WP -- Daphene Butcher (1-2); LP -- Ashley Pierce (0-2)

Westfall 9, Southeastern 4

A clutch throw by center fielder Beth Reed snuffed out a budding Southeastern rally in the top of the sixth inning and helped nail down Westfall's win.

Southeastern (0-3, 0-3) had just scored three runs when Reed nailed a runner trying to score from third base with a perfect throw.

Two of the three Southeastern runs in the sixth inning scored on a single by Annie Cooper, who had two of her team's five hits.

Amanda Angles, Kari Rodgers and Jess Rodgers all had three hits apiece for the Mustangs (1-3, 1-1) and Randi Rodgers and Kendall Dick two hits each. Angles smashed a solo homerun in a three-run third inning and Dick highlighted a five-run fifth inning with a two-run single.

R H E

Southeastern 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 -- 4 5 3

Westfall 1 0 3 0 5 0 x -- 9 13 3

WP -- Kaylyn Dick (1-1); LP -- Julie Patterson (0-3)

Three share top spot in SVC softball

04/06/04

Zane Trace, Unioto and Piketon share first place at 2-0 in Scioto Valley Conference softball after posting victories in makeup games Tuesday evening.

Zane Trace blanked Adena 14-0 behind the combined no-hit pitching of Allison Cox and Tiffany Manasco, Unioto scored in every inning for a 13-4 win over Paint Valley and Piketon slipped past Southeastern 7-6.

Zane Trace 14, Adena 0

Cox and Manasco -- a senior transfer from Illinois -- combined to strike out 16 and issued no walks in sharing the no-hitter. Cox fanned 13 in five innings and Manasco struck out three over the final two innings.

Katie Bost, Amanda Renner, Jessica Graves and Cox all had two hits apiece in Zane Trace's 12-hit attack.

Cox delivered a grand-slam homer in the sixth inning and Bost had a double.

Zane Trace (3-0, 2-0) hosts Unioto Wednesday evening.

R H E

Adena 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 0 3

Zane Trace 2 0 0 3 4 5 x -- 14 12 0

WP -- Allison Cox (3-0); LP -- Katie Roush (1-1)

Unioto 13, Paint Valley 4

Unioto (2-2, 2-0) won its second straight game after dropping a doubleheader Saturday at Circleville.

The Lady Shermans outhit Paint Valley (0-3, 0-2) 13-10 and took advantage of five Lady Bearcat miscues and five walks.

Sophomore Lindsey Dix led Unioto's offense with three hits and Heather Keplinger and Sara Sullivan had two hits apiece and Jessica Lewis doubled.

Tiffany Dailey's two singles and a double paced Paint Valley and Meggan Ward had two singles and Emmalee McKell a triple.

R H E

Paint Valley 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 -- 4 10 5

Unioto 1 1 3 1 4 3 x -- 13 13 1

WP -- Jessica Perkins (2-1); LP -- Tiffany Dailey (0-2)

Piketon 7, Southeastern 6

Southeastern's Julie Patterson suffered her second straight hard-luck loss -- giving up just two hits as Piketon (2-0, 2-0) took advantage of three Lady Panther errors to score six runs in the first inning.

Piketon's Whitney Jordan and Sheena Spurgeon led off the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back singles and a walk, a hit batsman and three errors followed in the six-run outburst.

Southeastern (0-2, 0-2) clawed back within a run with a three-run seventh inning before winner Ali Smith escaped with her second straight victory.

Courtney Keesee and Nikki Young led off the Lady Panther seventh with singles and Patterson drove in both with a single. Patterson -- who had two of Southeastern's eight hits -- eventually scored on a groundout to cut the final margin to 7-6.

Smith walked three and struck out three while Patterson walked two and fanned six.

R H E

Southeastern 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 -- 6 8 3

Piketon 6 0 0 1 0 0 x -- 7 2 2

WP -- Ali Smith (2-0); LP -- Julie Patterson (0-2)

Zane Trace's Cox fans 20

04/05/04

Sophomore Allison Cox struck out 20 batters as Zane Trace defeated Huntington 11-1 in a Scioto Valley Conference softball opener for both teams Monday evening.

In other openers, Adena edged Paint Valley 4-3 in nine innings, Unioto scored the winning run with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning of a 3-2 victory over Southeastern and Piketon was a 5-3 winner over Westfall.

Zane Trace 11, Huntington 1

Cox -- the reigning SVC player of the year -- gave up three hits and one walk in recording her second win of the season.

Zane Trace exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning to break open a 4-1 game. Big blow in the inning was a bases-loaded triple by transfer Tiffany Manasco.

Cox and Anna Gray had two hits apiece for the Lady Pioneers (2-0, 1-0) with Gray clubbing a double and a three-bagger.

Huntington's Daphene Butcher suffered her second straight loss as she struck out seven. She gave up nine hits and hit three batters.

Butcher had two of the three hits off Cox and scored the Lady Huntsmen's lone run.

R H E

Huntington 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 -- 1 3 3

Zane Trace 3 0 0 1 7 0 x -- 11 9 1

WP -- Allison Cox (2-0); LP -- Daphene Butcher (0-2)

Piketon 5, Westfall 3

Westfall outhit Piketon 12-10, but the Redstreaks' Ali Smith kept the Lady Mustangs at bay by stranding 14 runners.

Smith held Westfall scoreless until the sixth inning and escaped after giving up two runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Smith also was the hitting star for Piketon with a pair of doubles to drive in three runs. The Redstreaks' Jordan also had two hits and scored twice.

Kari Rodgers had three hits -- including a double -- and drove in two runs for Westfall. Jessica Link, Amanda Angles and Jessica Rodgers all had two hits, including a double by Link.

R H E

Piketon 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 -- 5 10 2

Westfall 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 -- 3 12 4

WP -- Ali Smith (1-0); LP -- Brittany Mullins (0-2)

Unioto 3, Southeastern 2

Southeastern's Julie Patterson cruised through the first five innings with a 2-0 lead before Unioto rallied with a run in the bottom of the sixth and the tying and winning runs in the seventh.

The Panthers had taken a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth on a two-run double by J. C. Hewitt.

Leah Jadwin singled, stole second and rode home on Lindsey Dix's single to get Unioto on the board in the sixth.

Sara Sullivan's one-out triple ignited the Lady Sherman seventh and Laura Hopkins followed with an infield hit to score Sullivan with the tying run. Hopkins moved to second on a sacrifice and beat the throw home on Jessica Lewis's game-winning, two-out single.

Jadwin had two of the eight hits off Patterson, who struck out seven and walked one. Jessica Perkins doled out four hits and two walks and struck out seven.

R H E

Southeastern 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 -- 2 4 1

Unioto 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 -- 3 8 2

WP -- Jessica Perkins (1-1); LP -- Julie Patterson (0-1)

Adena 4, Paint Valley 3

After a slow start, Paint Valley scored unearned runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings -- all on passed balls.

Adena capitalized on six Bearcat errors to score an unearned run in the sixth and two in the seventh to send the game into extra innings.

The Lady Warriors scored the game-winner in the bottom of the top of the ninth after a single by freshman Tara Knauff, who eventually scored on another Paint Valley error.

Katie Roush gained the pitching victory despite taking a hard line drive off her pitching hand in the bottom of the eighth inning. Roush retired Paint Valley 1-2-3 in the ninth.

Whitney Houser had two singles and Roush and Catherine Glandon a double each for Adena while Emmalee McKell and Meggan Ward had two singles apiece for Paint Valley.

Adena's SVC game Wednesday with Piketon has been moved from Frankfort to Piketon.

R H E

Adena 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 -- 4 7 2

Paint Valley 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 -- 3 6 6

WP -- Katie Roush (1-0); LP -- Ashley Pierce (0-1)

Westfall, Unioto drop twinbills

04/03/04

Teays Valley swept Westfall 2-0, 17-2 and Circleville took a pair from Unioto 5-1, 16-5 in a girls non-conference softball doubleheaders Saturday.

Teays Valley 2-17, Westfall 0-2

Westfall was limited on one hit in the opener -- a two-out single by Kari Rodgers in the top of the seventh inning.

The Lady Mustangs' Brittany Mullins gave up just two hits in the loss. One of the two Lady Viking runs was unearned as the result of a passed ball as Mullins walked two and struck out two.

Rodgers and freshman Emily Graham had run-scoring singles in the nightcap as Teays Valley outhit Westfall 12-3 in the five-inning tilt. Jessica Link had the other hit and scored one of her team's two runs.

Starter Kaylyn Dick and two relievers -- Mullins and Graham -- were victimized by seven errors.

R H E

Westfall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 1 1

Teays Valley 0 0 1 0 1 0 x -- 2 2 1

WP -- Calla Helfrey; LP -- Brittany Mullins (0-1)

R H E

Westfall 1 0 0 0 1 -- 2 3 7

Teays Valley 2 5 3 6 1 -- 17 12 0

WP -- Donna Wise; LP -- Kaylyn Dick (0-1)

Circleville 5-16, Unioto 1-5

Jessica Perkins pitched well for the Lady Shermans in the opener, allowing just seven hits and one walk while striking out six.

Unioto scored its lone run in the first game in the top of the seventh when Amanda Preston singled and eventually scored on a Circleville error. Leah Jadwin singled for Unioto's only other base hit.

Circleville pounded out 14 hits and took advantage of four Unioto miscues to overcome an early 4-2 lead by the Lady Shermans in the nightcap.

Jadwin doubled in the second game and Heather Keplinger, Jessica Lewis, Lindsey Dix, Perkins and Andrea Chaney all had singles for Unioto.

R H E

Unioto 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 -- 1 2 3

Circleville 3 0 1 1 0 0 x -- 5 7 2

LP -- Jessica Perkins (0-1)

R H E

Unioto 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 -- 5 6 4

Circleville 2 1 4 5 0 4 x -- 16 14 4

LP -- Amanda Preston (0-1)

Zane Trace blanks Northwest 3-0

03/29/04

Allison Cox tossed a two-hit shutout and Zane Trace scored three runs in the first inning to open the 2004 softball season with a 3-0 non-conference win at Northwest Monday evening.

Huntington fell to Minford 4-2 and Peebles defeated Paint Valley 6-1 in other openers Monday evening.

Zane Trace 3, Northwest 0

Singles by Cassi Wertman, Cox, Amanda Renner and Jessica Graves in the first inning provided Cox with all the run support the Lady Pioneer sophomore needed.

Cox also had a double as she allowed four walks and struck out seven in an errorless game.

R H E

Zane Trace 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 3 6 0

Northwest 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 2 0

WP -- Allison Cox (1-0)

Minford 4, Huntington 2

Minford touched the Lady Huntsmen's Daphene Butcher for two runs in the first inning on a pair of walks, a stolen base and a run-scoring sacrifice.

Huntington tied the game with single runs in the first and third innings, but a hit-batsman with the bases loaded plated the winning run for Minford in the fourth inning.

Butcher walked four, struck out six and allowed one hit on the mound and singled for one of Huntington's three hits. Amanda Doyle's single drove in a run in the third inning in which the Lady Huntsmen left the bases loaded.

Amber Kerns had a single in the fourth for Huntington.

R H E

Minford 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 -- 4 1 1

Huntington 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 -- 2 3 2

LP -- Daphene Butcher (0-1)

Peebles 6, Paint Valley 1

Sophomore Tiffany Dailey had two of Paint Valley's five hits -- a double and a single -- and scored the Lady Bearcats' lone run.

Dailey was touched for seven hits on the mound, but two of the six runs scored by Peebles were unearned as the result of three Paint Valley miscues.

R H E

Paint Valley 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 -- 1 5 3

Peebles 0 0 3 2 0 1 x -- 6 7 1

LP -- Tiffany Dailey (0-1)

Zane Trace SVC softball favorite

03/28/04

Six of the seven opposing coaches tab Zane Trace to repeat as Scioto Valley Conference softball champion this spring.

The only coach not to favor the defending champion Lady Pioneers in response to the annual questionnaire of the-sportspage.com picks Huntington.

Those two are clear-cut favorites to be at the head of the pack when the dust settles five weeks from when league play gets underway this week.

Veteran coach Bill Fetters returns player of the year Allison Cox, who led Zane Trace to a gold softball last spring as undefeated SVC champions.

Cox -- the first freshman in league history to win softball player of the year honors -- recorded a 13-2 record on the mound and batted .541 during the regular season. Zane Trace won its first sectional title since 1999, but lost to Huntington 1-0 in a Division III district semifinal.

Huntington counters with 14-game winner Daphene Butcher after advancing to the district final for the first time in school history. Coach Sam Beeler's Lady Huntsmen tied the school record for victories in a season (15) and broke the school record for SVC wins in a season (10).

Brad Jadwin -- the league's newest coach -- takes over a Unioto team that had no seniors on last year's squad that improved to 11-13 overall and 7-7 in the SVC for a share of fourth place with Piketon.

Coaches lump Unioto and Westfall together to round out the first division with upstart Southeastern and Piketon heading up the second tier. Southeastern won six games a year ago after notching just two wins in the previous four campaigns.

Adena looks for improvement under veteran coach Paul Thomas, who returns after one season away from the Lady Warrior bench, as does Paint Valley, which managed just one win in Lew Ewry's first season last spring.

A team by team preview of the 2003-04 SVC softball season, in alphabetical order.

Adena

Thomas led Adena to back-to-back softball titles during a five-year run before stepping aside last season.

He inherits a team that was 3-19 overall and 2-12 in the SVC a year ago under Betsy Clark.

The Lady Warriors must replace second baseman Erin Wilburn, all-SVC honorable mention; shortstop Nikki Davis, second team all-SVC, and left fielder Heidi Cottrill.

Heading the returnees is pitcher Katie Roush -- 3-13 a year ago -- who was a second team all-SVC selection, and third baseman Ryan Davis, an honorable mention selection. Jennifer Fout returns behind the plate with Schae Reed at shortstop and Whitney Houser and Liza Hirsch in the outfield.

Junior Evyn Gray is ticketed to take over at second base with senior Brittany Cottrill and freshmen Mahle Mitchell, Tara Knauff and Catherine Glandon pushing for playing time.

"We need to learn how to compete," Thomas said of his 2004 squad.

Season opener: Amanda Clearcreek, home, Tuesday.

SVC opener: at Zane Trace, Wednesday.

Huntington

Four starters -- shortstop Vanessa Doyle, catcher Krista Carroll and outfielders Angela Bowers and Ruth Claytor -- graduated, but the addition of senior Lindsey Grubb and a talented corps of freshmen eases the losses.

Sophomore Amanda Doyle -- honorable mention all-SVC as a freshman -- will take over behind the plate with Grubb ticketed to open in centerfield where her track speed will be an asset.

With Butcher -- 14-5 last season -- back for her junior year and freshmen Lisa Doberstyn and Shandra Kellough taking over at short and second, respectively, the Lady Huntsmen should be strong up the middle.

Another all-SVC honorable mention selection Tiffany Carroll returns at third base and Nikkita Carroll is back at first. Both are four-year starters.

Sophomores Genica Johnson and Amber Kerns will flank Grubb in the outfield with another pair of freshmen -- Ashley Dearth and Ashlea Blair -- getting looks as a backup pitcher and designated hitter, respectively.

Season opener: Minford, home, Monday.

SVC opener: Westfall, home, Wednesday.

Paint Valley

Ewry's rebuilding process begins with the return of eight starters and three other players who lettered last season.

Amy Mendenhall -- a hard-hitting infielder who was second team all-SVC in 2003 -- is the team's lone loss.

Heading the returnees are a pair of all-SVC honorable mention selections -- pitcher/outfielder Ashley Pierce and first baseman Meggan Ward.

Third baseman/pitcher Emmalee McKell, outfielder Laura Kinneer, catcher/infielder Amy Bolles, outfielder Kacie Brown, outfielder/pitcher Ashley Hamlin and shortstop/pitcher Tiffany Dailey were starters a year ago.

Stephanie Baker, Jessica Driapsa and Chriscia Dove provide experienced depth and freshman Maggie Cooper could figure in the team's climb up the standings.

Season opener: at Peebles, Monday.

SVC opener: at Unioto, Wednesday.

Piketon

"We are driven to be better than last year (7-12, 7-7)," says second-year Piketon coach Kellie Bolton.

Bolton must replace three-fourths of her infield -- Sarah Conley at first base, Tiffany Gullett at third base and Jessica Woodruff at second. Also graduated is left fielder Heidi O'Brien. All four were all-league selections last season.

Pitcher Tori Conley, pitcher/catcher Ali Smith, shortstop Sheena Spurgeon and center fielder Missy Short return as starters and outfielder Jenni Burkitt and infielder Whitney Jordan were letter winners last season.

Newcomers contending for playing time are Brooke Ervin and Brittany Montgomery in the outfield, Laranda Riley at third base and Hope Robbins behind the plate.

Season/SVC opener: Southeastern, home, Wednesday.

Southeastern

Included in last season's six victories was the school's first trip to the district since 1997.

"I hope we can build on last season," says coach John Evans, who begins his third season at the Lady Panther helm.

Last season's 6-11 record "does not look impressive," Evans says, "but you must consider where we came from. We had not won an SVC game in four years and we won four. We won a sectional title and lost a close one to Symmes Valley in the district.

"If we can build on that, we could have a fun season."

Amanda Hatfield returns to catch pitcher Julie Patterson -- 6-9 last season -- and the entire infield of Laura Hall at first base, Megan Patterson at second, Terra Kinzer at shortstop and Nikki Young at third base is back.

Annie Cooper and J. C. Hewitt provide experience in the outfield and Laura Patterson and Amy Johnson lettered last season.

Season opener: Western, home, Tuesday.

SVC opener: at Piketon, Wednesday.

Unioto

"We are still a young club," says Jadwin, who served as an assistant coach for the Lady Shermans last season.

"We are not a long-ball hitting club," Jadwins says of his squad that will count on speed to manufacture runs. "Defensively we can't have four out innings. We have to make the routine plays."

Heading the veterans are sophomore Leah Jadwin and senior pitcher Jessica Perkins -- 9-10 a year ago. Jadwin was a first team all-SVC selection as a freshman and Perkins was a second team choice. Junior Heather Keplinger and sophomore Lindsey Dix were honorable mention all-league in 2003.

Perkins is one of just five seniors on the current roster.

"I see a lot of parity in the league this year," Jadwin adds. "It sould be an exciting and interesting race this year.

Season opener: Greenfield McClain, home, Tuesday.

SVC opener: Paint Valley, home, Wednesday.

Westfall

The Lady Mustangs may have lost more talent than any other team in the league with all-state pitcher Natalie Hanson, two-year letter winner and all-SVC selection Kelsey Sewards and Stephanie Schwalbauch gone.

Shortstop Amanda Angles -- an all-SVC second team selection -- and honorable mention choices Beth Reed and Randy Rodgers in the outfield provide coach Jay Miller with a solid base.

Kari Rodgers rounds out the starting outfield.

Chelsea Popowski, Jessica Rodgers and Brittany Mullins are returning letter winners and sophomores Kendall Dick, Kaylyn Dick, Julie Brown, Jessica Link and Tonya Miller and freshman Kara Brungarth are contending for playing time.

Mullins in the team's lone senior.

Season opener: Logan Elm, home, Tuesday.

SVC opener: at Huntington, Wednesday.

Zane Trace

The Lady Pioneers' Fetters will add to his 205 career victories with a cast headed by Cox and the keystone combination of seniors Cassi Wertman and Amanda Renner at short and second, respectively.

Wertman was a second team all-SVC selection last season and Renner honorable mention.

There are losses, however, in all-state catcher Nikki Brooks and pitcher Shelly Krieg (7-2) to graduation; Ashley Drexel, who moved, and Mila Butler, who has chosen not to play this spring.

Krieg and Brooks were first team all-SVC last season and Butler was honorable mention.

Cox will play in the infield when she is not on the mound and Paige Halley will split duties between catcher and first base and Katie Bost returns in the outfield. Tiffany Manasco -- a senior transfer -- will see playing time in the infield and as a backup to Cox on the mound.

Sophomores Rylie Hill and Anna Gray are returning letter winners in the outfield and Hill could see some playing time at first base. Freshmen Jessica Graves and Shayna Cox also are contending for playing time.

Season opener: at Northwest, Monday.

SVC opener: Adena, home, Wednesday.