SOFTBALL: Du Quoin's Rice no-hits Agape
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The DuQuoin High School Softball Team moved their record to 8-0 on Thursday with a win over Agape Christian High School from Energy. The Indians defeated Agape 9-0 in seven innings.
DuQuoin pitcher, Cassidy Rice, pitched a no hitter in this game. Rice had 16 strikeouts and no walks. Rice's record is now 5-0. The only miscue in the game was one error by the Indians. Agape had 8 errors in the game. The Agape pitcher, Hannah Humphrey, pitched a passable game in a losing effort. She allowed 9 runs (6 earned), on 9 hits, had 4 strikeouts and no walks. Kalynn Pierce pitched the seventh inning, striking out two and walking one.
Kelsey Toler was 2-4 with a double and an RBI. Kelsey Robinson was 2-3 including a triple. Hadley Marek was 2-3 with an RBI. Magen Edwards was 1-3 with an RBI. Ashley Ward had the big hit of the game with a home run in the fifth inning. She was 1-3 with 3 RBI. Jessy Wallace was 1-3 with a bunt single. Other Indians seeing action were Jessica Hirsch, Aubrey Davis, Emily Asbury, Katrina Whitley, and Curry Emling. Other team members are Amanda Williams, Bri Green, Kate Toler, and Cassidy Hill.
The only Agape base runner got on in the fourth inning via an error. That runner was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Only four other balls were even hit; only one made it to the outfield. Agape is only in the second year of their softball program, and their inexperience showed in many phases of the game.
Coach Jason James commented, "Rice threw very well, throwing her first no hitter of the year striking out 16 and walking none. Ward had the big 3 run home run in the fifth that helped break the game open. One thing we do need to do a better job of is coming out a little more focused and ready to go from the moment we step on the field. We have a big stretch of games coming up where we play 13 straight games against ranked opponents, and we cannot have any mental let downs."
DuQuoin plays on Saturday, April 2, in the Mulberry Grove Tournament, taking on Breese Mater Dei at 12:00 noon. If the Indians win, they will play the winner of Mulberry Grove and Greenville at 4:00 p.m., a loss and they would face the loser at 2:00 p.m.