[Eoscstudents] EASTERN SOFTBALL DEFEATS TEAM 21-0 at Seminole Border Wars Tournament:

[Andy Mace]

EASTERN LADY MOUNTAINEER SOFTBALL DEFEATS TEAM WITH 21-0 RECORD LAST 
SATURDAY AT SEMINOLE STATE COLLEGE'S BORDER WARS  TOURNAMENT.

General Information:
Seminole has new softball/tennis/golf/athletic housing complex, probably 
nicest junior college SOFTBALL  complex in the country. To show off 
their new athletic facilites, Seminole invited 8 of the top junior 
college women's softball teams in America from 4 states: All of these 
programs are nationally ranked or former national champions in their 
respective classes or recent Regional winners and national tournament 
teams:  Seminole hopes to host the Region II Tournament or even the 
National Juco Tournament at their new complex, in future years.
 From Oklahoma: NEO and Seminole.    From Texas: Western Texas and 
Vernon Regional.    From Missouri: Jefferson County and Crowder.   From  
Kansas: Cowley County and Butler County.
Eastern was invited LATE as the Johnson County Tournament in Overland 
Park, Kansas, which we were orginally invited to,  was snowed out and we 
agreed to take Vernon Regional's  place as they withdrew only last week 
at Seminole???

Eastern played three games on Saturday, April 4th:
First Game:   Eastern 3   Butler, Kansas  1.  Butler is ranked 17th. 
nationally in the most recent NJCAA poll.
Kelsey Reding pitched great game and got run support from Kendra White's 
big three- run home run in the bottom of the first inning.  Those three 
runs held up for the win.
 
Second Game: Crowder, Missouri  5   Eastern  0
Karly Bitters took the loss here, only giving up 5 hits, and held 
Crowder to 1 run thru 5 innings. Rachel Filius relieved Karly in the 
6th.  inning and held the Lady Riders without  a baserunner.
The Crowder pitcher is now 15-2, one of the top juco pitchers in America.

Third Game:  Eastern 12   Jefferson County, Missouri   2 
Kelsey Reding pitched another gem here. Jefferson was 21-0 going into 
this game and has been ranked as high as 5th. nationally in this year's 
NJCAA Div. I poll.  Eastern only had one hit thru 4  innings off the 
undefeated Jefferson pitcher, a single by Kendra White in the third 
inning.  In the bottom of the fifth inning, Kelsey Reding hit her FIRST 
career home run, high school or college, high off the left field foul 
pole, to tie the score 1-1. In the top of the sixth inning, Jefferson's 
big three- hole hitter hit about a 350 ft. home run to put Jefferson 
back up 2-1.  In the bottom of the sixth , Ashlyn Aston led off with a 
single and later tied the score 2-2 on a passed ball. Eastern sent 14 
total hitters to the plate in the 6th. inning and scored 11 runs and 
eventually run-ruled the undefeated Jefferson team, on Darcy Casteel's 
long three- run home run to end the game, 12-2.   Macey  Moseley's  hard 
single to left which went all the way to the left field wall scored two 
runs and put Eastern up 7-2. Ashlyn Aston's second hit of the inning 
drove in two runs and put Eastern ahead 9-2 before Casteel ended the 
game with her home run over the left field wall.  Several Lady 
Mountaineers had a good sixth inning AT THE PLATE:  Rachel Powers, 
Aston, Sarah Hayslip, White, Casteel, Bitters, Reding, Moseley,  Sharla 
Bullard.

Eastern now returns to Region II action this week playing at Rose State 
on Tuesday and at Northern/Tonkawa on Thursday before the Easter break.