Lady Warriors end strong

Tuscola’s softball team ended the regular season strong finishing off the regular season with four straight victories and a 12-1 record in the final three weeks of the season, ending with a 26-7 record overall. During which time they captured their third straight Central Illinois Conference title while the seniors, Isabelle Shelmadine, Alexis Koester and Ashtyn Clark moved to the front of the class in total victories.

With the 26th win, the trio now has been part of 116 wins during their high school careers.

Shelmadine had a hand in every one not missing a start during her four-year career. She set the table this past week, and junior Jackie Watson cleared it off. The fourth year second baseman reached base 15 times on 12 hits in the five games, and Watson drove her in seven times in a week that included eight hits for the Warriors’ third baseman. The Clark sisters Allison and Ashtyn also produced combining for 10 hits and seven RBIs of their own.

Pitching duties were shared as both Ashton Smith and Kaitlyn Reifsteck each added two wins to their season stat sheet. Reifsteck took the only loss on Monday the 7th in a hard-fought contest, against the state’s top-ranked Spartans of St. Joe-Ogden, that was 2-1 after three and two thirds before the visitors pulled away late. The freshman secured a big non-conference win against Gerogetown on Friday while Smith added two wins to her resume with a 7-2 victory over Tolono Unity Tuesday and a 7-4 win over a good Salt Fork team on Saturday morning in Catlin.

SJO opened up an early one-run lead after one inning of action then pulled away late. The Clarks tied it up in the second thanks to back-to-back doubles, but that’s the only run the Warriors could muster as they left seven baserunners in all on the paths. Allison Clark led the way at the plate going 2 for 3 on the day. Claire Ring and Koester also reached on base knocks but were left.

The full story can be found in the Wednesday, May 16 edition of The Tuscola Journal.