Girls Prep Softball: Lady Indians bounce back, Elverado falls to Frankfort

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Less than 24 hours after its most disappointing effort of the young season, the Du Quoin High School girls softball team put together perhaps its best seven innings of 2010 Tuesday afternoon at the Goreville City Park.

The Lady Tribe smacked host Goreville 7-2 as freshman Cassidy Rice struck out five batters in tossing a nifty seven-hitter.

Now 3-1, Rice allowed just a pair of unearned runs as her teammates provided ample support with 15 hits.

"We played much better today," Lady Indians coach Jason James said. "Rice pitched her best game by far. I am proud of these girls. Hopefully we can keep this up."

Du Quoin led 4-0 entering the fifth inning, scoring a pair of markers in the second and third frames.

RBI doubles from Heather Cavins and Jessica Hirsch put the Lady Indians (7-2) ahead to stay, An inning later, Cavins added another RBI double and Chelsea Hill sent one run home with a single.

After Goreville sliced the margin in half, the Lady Indians put things out of reach with a three-run sixth.

Cavins doubled for the third time leading off and freshman Kelsey Robinson went deep for a two-run homer.

Hirsch tripled and then slid safely across the plate for the seventh run on Megi Jones' sacrifice fly.

Cavins (three RBI) and Kelsey Toler each had three hits with Hirsch, Rice and Hill all smacking two hits.

"We got back to our game plan at the plate and its showed with the type of swings we were taking."

James was also pleased with the defense. Despite three errors, the Lady Indians threw a pair of runners out at the plate and Cavins gunned down two potential base stealers.

A nifty 4-6-3 double play started by Ashley Ward ended the game in the Lady Blackcats seventh inning.

Goreville is 3-4.

Du Quoin's idle until Saturday's trip to Carterville to play Harrisburg and Carterville.

LADY FALCONS SURPRISED AT FRANKFORT

Elverado lost its fifth consecutive outing Tuesday, a disappointing 12-5 loss at West Frankfort.

The Lady Falcons are scheduled to host Galatia-Thompsonville Friday.

"I am really disappointed," EHS coach Donette Wheatley admitted. "I thought we would be a better ballclub now than what we are showing."

West Frankfort scored seven runs in its first two at-bats and was never threatened.

Erika Will had two hits and two RBI for Elverado with Sami Hicks, Chelsea Cochran, Kelsey Tuthill, Kesi Teague and Abby Grammer all notching basehots.