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04-06-2012, 03:32 PM
One lousy run.
Thatâs usually been the difference between winning big and losing unluckily the past few years for the Dixie Heights softball team.
âWeâve lost a lot of really close games,â senior outfielder Meredith Hartfiel said. âItâs been one out or one strike thatâs kept us from doing something.â
The Colonels were denied a shot at a regional title in 2009 when they lost 4-3 to eventual champion Conner in the tournament semifinals. They lost 3-2 to St. Henry in last seasonâs district championship. They lost 7-6 to St. Henry in the 2010 district final. One run has decided five of the past six meetings against St. Henry, including the past three, all Dixie losses.
Roddy Stainforth, in his third year as Colonels head coach, fields a young squad after losing six senior starters, including his top pitcher. He has one sophomore, three freshmen, an eighth-grader and a seventh-grader in his starting lineup who are trying to get him his first win after four attempts against the Crusaders.
The youngsters will need to make some big strides for the Colonels, but Stainforth is telling them that all they have to do to win the 34th District for the first time since 2009 is be at least one run better against St. Henry.
The Colonels and Crusaders clash in a district seeding game May 1 at St. Henry. They also play May 12 at Dixie at the Strike Out Cancer tournament and expect to square off in the district final for the fifth straight year. Dixie is off to a 5-3 start after being the second-winningest team in the 9th Region last year with 18 victories.
âWeâre very young, and pitching and defense has carried us,â Stainforth said. âBut a lot of those girls, like Brooke Garrett; sheâs a freshman whoâs been starting since she was a seventh-grader, have playing experience.â
A handful, including Garrett and fellow freshman Courtney Garrett, eighth-grade pitcher Bailey Spencer and seventh-grade second baseman Aleiha Tucker, represent strong up-and-coming talent for the Colonels. Courtney Garrett pitched a one-hit, 4-0 shutout against perennial power Simon Kenton in her first varsity appearance the second game of the season. The next day, Spencer struck out 17 batters in a 2-1, 11-inning complete-game win over Ludlow. Spencer is 3-1 with a 1.18 ERA.
Stainforth expects his precocious players to keep improving and join upperclassmen Hartfiel and Megan James as key cogs. James, primarily a shortstop and Dixieâs No. 3 hitter, leads the team with a .460 batting average.
âBeating St. Henry would be a really happy day, and I think we can do it,â said James, a senior. âAll we need to do is get ahead and win by a run.âhttp://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...304040177/
Thatâs usually been the difference between winning big and losing unluckily the past few years for the Dixie Heights softball team.
âWeâve lost a lot of really close games,â senior outfielder Meredith Hartfiel said. âItâs been one out or one strike thatâs kept us from doing something.â
The Colonels were denied a shot at a regional title in 2009 when they lost 4-3 to eventual champion Conner in the tournament semifinals. They lost 3-2 to St. Henry in last seasonâs district championship. They lost 7-6 to St. Henry in the 2010 district final. One run has decided five of the past six meetings against St. Henry, including the past three, all Dixie losses.
Roddy Stainforth, in his third year as Colonels head coach, fields a young squad after losing six senior starters, including his top pitcher. He has one sophomore, three freshmen, an eighth-grader and a seventh-grader in his starting lineup who are trying to get him his first win after four attempts against the Crusaders.
The youngsters will need to make some big strides for the Colonels, but Stainforth is telling them that all they have to do to win the 34th District for the first time since 2009 is be at least one run better against St. Henry.
The Colonels and Crusaders clash in a district seeding game May 1 at St. Henry. They also play May 12 at Dixie at the Strike Out Cancer tournament and expect to square off in the district final for the fifth straight year. Dixie is off to a 5-3 start after being the second-winningest team in the 9th Region last year with 18 victories.
âWeâre very young, and pitching and defense has carried us,â Stainforth said. âBut a lot of those girls, like Brooke Garrett; sheâs a freshman whoâs been starting since she was a seventh-grader, have playing experience.â
A handful, including Garrett and fellow freshman Courtney Garrett, eighth-grade pitcher Bailey Spencer and seventh-grade second baseman Aleiha Tucker, represent strong up-and-coming talent for the Colonels. Courtney Garrett pitched a one-hit, 4-0 shutout against perennial power Simon Kenton in her first varsity appearance the second game of the season. The next day, Spencer struck out 17 batters in a 2-1, 11-inning complete-game win over Ludlow. Spencer is 3-1 with a 1.18 ERA.
Stainforth expects his precocious players to keep improving and join upperclassmen Hartfiel and Megan James as key cogs. James, primarily a shortstop and Dixieâs No. 3 hitter, leads the team with a .460 batting average.
âBeating St. Henry would be a really happy day, and I think we can do it,â said James, a senior. âAll we need to do is get ahead and win by a run.âhttp://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...304040177/
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04-06-2012, 03:32 PM
[Image: http://cmsimg.nky.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bil...mes-season]Dixie Heights freshman Brooke Garrett makes a catch at shortstop in last May's Ninth Region softball semifinals. / James Weber/Recorder
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