SOFTBALL: Hornettes, Harre dismiss Du Quoin
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The DuQuoin High School Softball Team had a great season ending at a 21-10 record. It was a great season, just not a good day on Friday. DuQuoin made it to the Regional finals at Waltonville against Number One seed, Nashville. But, unfortunately, Nashville won the championship 7-1.
Give DuQuoin credit--they did not quit or roll over and play dead. They gave their best effort all seven innings. The Nashville pitcher, Shay Harre, was just too tough, and not just pitching. She had three hits and four RBI in the game.
Harre was the winning pitcher. She tossed all seven innings allowing only one run (unearned), on two hits, had four walks, and four strikeouts. Nashville's team record is now 27-4. The losing pitcher for DuQuoin was Cassidy Rice. Rice allowed seven runs (5 unearned), gave up 9 hits (all singles), had one strikeout, and walked four. Rice's final record is 17-9. DuQuoin, unfortunately, had 5 very costly errors in the contest, while Nashville had two.
Nashville had nine hits. They were all singles. Harre, was 3-3 with 4 RBI. Mollie Borowiak was 2-4. For DuQuoin, Kelsey Robinson had a double in the fourth inning and Katrina Whitley had a single in the seventh. DuQuoin scored their lone run in the seventh inning. Katrina Whitley singled, Ashley Ward walked, and Jessy Wallace hit into a fielder's choice. Nashville committed an error on the fielder's choice to allow Whitley to score.
Nashville advances to the Class 2A sectional, which they will host at NHS.
Other players seeing playing time were: Kelsey Toler, Jessica Hirsch, Hadley Marek, Magen Edwards, Curry Emling, and Bri Green. Members of the team are also Aubrey Davis, Hailey Stewart, Abby Myers, Kate Toler, Emily Asbury, Bailie Caldwell, Cassidy Hill, and Amanda Williams.
Coach Jason James commented: "I am proud of the girls. A 21-10 record is a school record on wins. Our game plan was don't let Harre beat us, and to play good defense. The combination of only two hits for us, committing five errors, and Harre getting three hits did not help us. I am glad to see us battle back, and not give up. Those Seniors--love them to death. They are a good group, and I will miss them."
The three Seniors are Curry Emling, Kelsey Toler, and Ashley Ward. They have a season to remember and loads of good memories to keep with them in their future lives. The others will hopefully use this experience and come back as strong or stronger next spring.