Photo by Jeff Helmkamp

Photo by Jeff Helmkamp

Tami Wong and Ashlyn Betz have been the Alton Redbirds' top hitters all season long, combining for 114 hits with five home runs and 70 RBIs.

The strong efforts caught the attention of the Class 4A softball coaches in the state. Wong and Betz were selected to the Illinois Coaches Association Class 4A all-state team, which was released on Tuesday.

Wong and Betz were the lone area representatives on the 116-player Class 4A all-state team.

Wong, a junior infielder, was named to the second team and earned her second straight all-state award after batting .496 with four home runs and 29 RBIs. A year ago, she earned second-team honors after hitting a team-leading .509.

Betz, a sophomore infielder, received her first all-state award after leading the Redbirds with a .509 batting average with a home run and 41 RBIs. She batted .284 last spring. She was named to the third team.

A total of 10 area players earned all-state softball honors this spring. Eight of them were selected on the Class 2A team, which was announced on Monday. They were Meghan Schorman, Gracie Morris, Jada Johnson and Tess Eberlin of Marquette Catholic, Abi Stahlhut and Phoebe Booher of Roxana and Morgan Moxey and Macy Flanigan of East Alton-Wood River.

SHG ends Alton’s season, 12-2

Louie Korac For The Telegraph

Published 7:40 pm, Thursday, May 24, 2018

GODFREY — An inability to get the season-long reliable bats going and a large crooked inning allowed did in the Alton Redbirds.

Alton’s bats were cooled off by Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin pitcher Abigail Antonacci, and the Cyclones touched Alton pitcher Abby Scyoc for six second-inning runs before SHG walked it off with four unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth of a 12-2 victory on Thursday in the Alton Class 4A Regional at AHS.

The Cyclones (23-10) advance to face Edwardsville (20-3) on Saturday at 11 a.m. for the regional championship. Alton finished at 17-17.

The Redbirds were limited to four hits in the game, and the Cyclones sent 11 batters to the plate against Scyoc in the second inning to grab a 7-1 lead and never look back.

“It probably was one of the better games of the year,” SHG coach Al Yoho said. “… We’ve lost to some pretty good teams, but we hit real well, and pitching is starting to come around a little bit. We kind of struggled a little bit, but pitching’s starting to get better.”

Alton coach Dan Carter went with the sophomore Scyoc, who would only last two innings and allow seven earned runs on six hits with two walks, one strikeout and a hit batsman.

“We’ve got two pitchers and it was which is going to be better that night,” Carter said. “They’re very complimentary of each other, and Abby Scyoc’s worked her tail off to be the No. 1. We felt like we owed it to her to give her that start. She went out there, she had a great first inning and it kind of blew up on her there in the second inning.”

The Cyclones scored a run in the bottom of the first on a fielder’s choice ground ball before Scyoc helped her own cause with a soft single through the middle of the infield to score Lynna Fischer, who drove in a run in the third, to tie the game 1-1.

But the Cyclones would go up for good, and four of those runs came after two outs, with Claire Dodson providing the big blow with a two-run single to right center making it 5-1, followed by a RBI double by Renee Abernathy and RBI single off the bat of Katie Weller for a 7-1 Cyclone lead.

“We did pretty decent that inning,” Yoho said. “We hit the ball well through the whole order. When you play Alton, they’re probably in one of the best conferences in the state, so you can’t take anything for granted. Any time you can score, get your runs early.”

Meanwhile, Antonacci, who allowed single runs in the second and third, settled in to blank the Alton lineup. She allowed two earned runs on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts and worked around a pair of fielding errors as the Redbirds stranded seven runners in the game.

“She doesn’t mess around,” Yoho said of his senior pitcher. “She just gets the ball and goes. A lot of these pitchers, you get 20 seconds in between pitches, and that seems like an eternity. She just gets the ball and goes. She’ll get it and go and is a phenomenal competitor.”

The Redbirds came into the game averaging 8.6 runs per game but were kept in check and when they got the base runners, they just couldn’t string together the big inning off Antonacci and it simply never clicked.

“It didn’t. I give them credit,” Carter said. “Their pitcher kept us off balance there a little bit. She moved the ball in and out and up and down and it didn’t help that we haven’t played a game in a week. But that’s the way it is. That’s the nature of the beast. We just didn’t give ourselves an opportunity to win.”

Carter went with freshman Alyson Haegele in the third and the lefty handled the SHG lineup well until she ran into trouble in the sixth when the Cyclones plated four runs with the help of two errors. The final run came on a wild pitch on an 0-2 count.

Haegele went 3 2/3 innings and gave eight hits and five runs (one earned) with no walks and one strikeout.

“We made a switch,” Carter said. “I hate to go out there in the middle of an inning if you don’t have to. I let her work around that a little bit.

“Bottom line is we didn’t make plays for Alyson the last inning. Should have been out of the inning clearly and had another chance to hit. It’s 8-2 and we still had an uphill climb there, but you give yourself a chance when you have the top of the order coming up and we didn’t ourselves that chance.”

The loss marked the end of the prep careers for seniors Alexis Fisher, Miranda Hudson and Rachel McCoy.

SPRINGFIELD SACRED HEART-GRIFFIN 12, ALTON 2

Alton 011 000 — 2 4 2

SHG 160 104 — 12 14 2

Alton (17-17) — Hudson 1-3, Betz 2-3, Fischer 0-1 RBI, Scyoc 1-3 RBI. LP-Scyoc IP-2 H-6 R-7 ER-7 BB-2 K-1.

Sacred Heart-Griffin (23-10) — Schweska 1-4 RBI, Dodson 2-4 RBI-2, Abernathy 1-4 3B RBI-2, Weller 3-4 2B RBI-2, Morrow 2-3 RBI-2, Antonacci 3-4 2B-2, Robertson 2-3 RBI, Sauer 0-2 RBI. WP-Antonacci IP-6 H-4 R-2 ER-2 BB-3 K-5.

PREP SOFTBALL: Alton errors costly in loss to O’Fallon

Errors costly in loss to O’Fallon

Louie Korac For The Telegraph

Published 7:57 pm, Monday, April 9, 2018

Photo:

Telegraph File Photo

Alton coach Dan Carter’s Redbirds committed six errors in Monday’s 11-8 Southwestern Conference home loss to O’Fallon.

GODFREY — Alton softball coach Dan Carter’s been around long enough to know that mental and physical mistakes committed in the Southwestern Conference don’t go unpunished.

The mistakes Alton made on Monday certainly didn’t go unpunished.

The Redbirds‘ six errors, and questionable baserunning decisions were too much to overcome in an 11-7 loss to O’Fallon on a blustery, cold day at Alton High School. It was a makeup of a game originally scheduled to be played in March.

“You’ve got to make those plays,” Carter said. “There were plays that have got to be made. … Seven unearned runs, and we scored seven. You’ve got to win ball games. You score seven against O’Fallon, you’ve got to get the win.

“We didn’t compete tonight, and that’s frustrating because the other night here against Edwardsville (a 7-5 loss), we came out here and competed. Like we just told the girls and like we’re going to reiterate again, the good thing about this sport is there’s not a lot of time to dwell on it. We come out again tomorrow and get ready to go again.”

All started well for Alton (4-4, 1-2) when they scored three rimes in the home half of the first after starting pitcher Alyson Haegele allowed a solo home run to O’Fallon’s Ashley Schloer belted a solo home run to center field.

Tami Wong tripled and scored on Abby Scyoc’s RBI double. Lynna Fischer singled in a run and she scored on Ashlyn Betz’s base hit, as the first four Redbirds reached base via hit off O’Fallon starting pitcher Hayleigh Juenger. Rachel McCoy drove in a run with a fielder’s choice ground ball and it was 3-1.

But that’s when the wheels came off the Redbirds defensively. They committed an error in a four-run Panthers second inning when they took the lead for good on four hits off Haegele, who lasted only 3 2/3 innings, an unearned run in the third and four unearned runs in the fourth when Haegele was chased from the game for Scyoc.

But the damage had already been done by the Panthers (6-2, 3-0), who finished the game with 15 hits, and it was 10-4 before Alton batted in the fourth.

“We didn’t make plays,” Carter said. “When you get popups on the infield and or in the outfield, they’ve got to be caught. That’s the way it goes.”

Despite the trivial play in the field, the Redbirds plated five or more runs in a game for eighth straight time to start the season and with that, there’s never a doubt Alton is out of a game.

“No question,” Carter said. “We have the ability to hit up and down the lineup. You saw it tonight. All the girls in the lineup can put the ball in play. If we can hit the ball like we did tonight, I don’t know how many hits we had, but we put the ball in play and you’re going to score runs. We earned most of our runs. I know they had a couple errors, but we’re going to give ourselves a chance.

“… I would say this is probably the best-hitting team I’ve ever had, but it’s Game 8, so let’s see where we’re at Game 18.”

McCoy’s two-run double, her second two-bagger of the game, in the bottom of the sixth off Panthers reliever Kaitlin Moore made it a 10-7 game, but O’Fallon got an insurance run off Scyoc, who worked 3 1/3 effective relief innings.

“It’s a learning experience,” Carter said. “I’m very disappointed because I don’t know if we’ve played this bad at this level on this field in a long time, but we’ve got a lot of young girls out here without a lot of experience. But the older girls have got to pick it up and start bringing them along. They made mistakes, too.

“You chalk it up. You can’t dwell on it. You talk, you learn and you move on.”

Alton will most Granite City in another SWC conference game today at 4:30 p.m. before hosting Southwestern on Wednesday at 4:30 and playing at Collinsville on Thursday at 4:30 before rounding out a busy week in a doubleheader at Jersey Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.

-

O’FALLON 11, ALTON 7

O’Fallon 141 400 1 — 11 15 2

Alton 301 102 0 — 7 10 6

O’Fallon (6-2, 3-0) — Wilson 1-5 RBI, Brunner 3-5 RBI, Schloer 2-5 HR RBI, Short 1-4 RBI-2, Moore 2-5, Ca. Keller 1-4 2B RBI, Juenger 1-2 RBI-2, VanAusdall 2-2 RBI, Co. Keller 2-3 RBI-2. WP-Juenger IP-5 H-8 R_4 ER-2 BB-2 K-8.

Alton (4-4, 1-2) — Wong 2-4 2B 3B, Scyoc 1-5 RBI, Fischer 2-3 RBI, Betz 2-2 RBI, Hudson 1-4 RBI, McCoy 2-4 2B-2 RBI-3. LP-Haegele IP-3 2/3 H-11 R-10 ER-3 BB-3 K-1.

PREP SOFTBALL: ‘Wet and cold are never fun,’ but Redbirds off to 3-2 start
Louie Korac For The Telegraph Published 9:54 am, Friday, March 30, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Alton’s Miranda Hudson, shown hitting a double in a game against Bunker Hill last season at Alton High in Godfrey, returns for her senior season after hitting .343 with 36 RBIs and six home runs as a junior. Photo: Billy Hurst / For The Telegraph
Photo:
Billy Hurst / For The Telegraph

IMAGE 1 OF 3
Alton’s Miranda Hudson, shown hitting a double in a game against Bunker Hill last season at Alton High in Godfrey, returns for her senior season after hitting .343 with 36 RBIs and six home runs as a junior.

GODFREY — Dan Carter and the Alton Redbirds are in the same boat as every team in the Metro-East area.

They just want to play games but can’t because because of the same excuse as everyone else: Mother Nature.

Rain, rain and more rain continues to wreck havoc on fields all over the area, at times relentlessly while teams stand by helplessly wondering when they can resume their respective schedules.

The Redbirds have been able to play five games, and were 3-2 before attempting to take the field in their Southwestern Conference opener against East St. Louis on Friday, and it will have been eight days since the Redbirds last played a game.

“We were lucky enough to get a couple games in but it was cold, which wasn’t fun,” said Carter, in his 19th season guiding the softball program and began the season with a 386-248 career record. “Now we’re fighting the wet (stuff). Wet and cold are never fun. We’re behind the eight ball a little bit, but it’s that time of year. Not that we’re not used to this, but it’s been pretty bad this year.”

Alton poses a fairly young lineup that only boasts three seniors (outfielder Alexis Fisher, catcher Miranda Hudson and third baseman Rachel McCoy), and the Redbirds have some work to do to replace shortstop Savannah Fisher, who hit .444 last season with a team-leading four triples, along with Tomi Dublo (.346 with a team-leading five home runs), but when you have the reigning Telegraph Large School Player of the Year in junior Tami Wong, who has made the transition from center field to shortstop this season, it’s a good place to start.

“We’re young, we’re very young, but we’ve got a couple quality seniors back,” Carter said. “When you can put Miranda Hudson behind the plate to catch our games, that’s a huge plus. And we’ve got Rachel McCoy playing third for us, great leadership there. Alexis Fisher came off the bench last year. We’re hoping she can get a little more outfield time as we go along here.”

Wong hit a school-record .509 last season and led the team in runs (45), hits (58), doubles (17), was tied in singles with Fisher (38) and second in RBI (behind Hudson’s 36) with 35.

“When you have an all-state player like that coming back, we moved her in from the outfield to shortstop,” Carter said. “She’s played there and played third for her summer team, so it’s not foreign ground to her. … She’s a tremendous athlete, knows the game very well and can do a lot of things for us.”

Pitching-wise, the Redbirds will rely on sophomore Abby Scyoc (16-10 last season with in 27 games, of which 20 she started, with a 3.30 ERA, 53 walks and 83 strikeouts in 172 innings). Along with freshman Alyson Haegele, it will be valuable experience gained for the two young pitchers.

“Logged a lot of innings for us last year,” Carter said of Scyoc. “Obviously you’ve got to say Abby’s our No. 1 with the experience that she gave us last year, but the fact is there’s somebody else out there that we can go to.”

Sophomore Ashlyn Betz (.284, three home runs, seven doubles and 22 RBI) will play first base once again and freshman Lynna Fischer, who will play second base, is off to a .471 start in five games.

Freshman Abby Sullivan, sophomore Rachel Rathgeb and freshman Darcie Flanigan have been implemented in the outfield. “Even though we’re young in some of those positions, we’ve got some experience back,” Carter said.

The Redbirds have averaged 10-plus runs per game in their first five games; they just need to shore up some things on the mound and defensively. Alton’s allowed an average of 8.6 runs per game.

“We knew we’d hit the ball again this year, especially early,” said Carter, whose team went 22-12 a season ago. “There’s been a lot of water, but one thing you can do is get in the cage and hit. I think everybody right now is hitting better than the defense is. Our defense was pretty lacking in the first couple games. I don’t want to make excuses because I don’t believe in excuses, but we when it’s blowing and cold, it’s tough. I keep telling my girls we’ve got work on that and bear down. I think that’ll pay off for us down the road that kind of experience early in the season.”

Alton will once again be locked in the ultra-tough SWC with the front-runners like Edwardsville, Belleville East and Belleville West leading the way, and the Redbirds will be there tooth-and-nail with the likes of O’Fallon and Collinsville with the Flyerettes bringing up the rear.

“We play 14 games within the conference, and that tests you as it is,” Carter said. “This might be one of the tougher years. I think everybody’s got pitching back from last year. … You’ve got to say Edwardsville’s at the top every year until somebody knocks them off. Both the Belleville teams are going to be very strong. Then you talk us, Collinsville, O’Fallon, we were all middle of the pack last year. All three of those teams can make a run and push those other teams.”

Alton has already played games with Centralia (twice), East Alton-Wood River, Bunker Hill and Roxana in a nonconference schedule, with games remaining against Carrollton, Quincy, Highland, Civic Memorial, Southwestern, Jersey (DH), Calhoun, Cahokia, Metro-East Lutheran, Brussels, EA-WR again, Waterloo, Trenton Wesclin and Triad.

“We’re playing all the (Class) 3A schools around here, we tried calling the Springfield schools to get them on the schedule; they won’t play us or they don’t have room,” Carter said. “Weekend nights or weekday nights, you can only travel so far so many times. We try to schedule the teams in this area and we hope that our schedule tests us and has us ready when the playoffs come around. Most of those are going to be great games against some great teams.

“We very rarely set goals around here. Our goal is to be better every day. Like I tell the girls, ‘If you’re better today than you were yesterday, more times than not, you’re going to win a lot of ballgames.’ We’ve been very lucky here the last couple years to get to the 20-win plateau (five straight and 11 times in Carter’s previous 18 seasons). Obviously you’d like to get there again, you’d like to hit 25, you’d like to hit 30. I’m not saying those goals aren’t there, but every day you get better, you never know.”

 Offense fuels Redbirds past Shells
by Bill Roseberry March 22, 2018

      RSSPrint
Abby Sullivan 2-22-18.JPG
Photo by Bill Roseberry

 
Abi Stahlhut 2-22-18.JPG
Photo by Bill Roseberry

 
Tami Wong 2-22-18.JPG
Photo by Bill Roseberry

 
Olivia Stangler 2-22-18.JPG
Photo by Bill Roseberry

 Phoebe Booher 2-22-18.JPG
Photo by Bill Roseberry

 
Abby Scyoc 2-22-18.JPG
Photo by Bill Roseberry

ALTON — The Alton Redbirds are averaging 11.8 runs per game in 5 contests this spring.

Thursday proved to be another offensively fueled performance by Alton, as it defeated the Roxana Shells 15-5 in 6 innings at AHS. The Birds banged out 15 hits in the win and got hits from all 9 hitters in the lineup as they improved to 3-2.

Roxana dipped to 0-5 with the loss, despite muscling up for a trio of home runs. Junior Abi Stahlhut blasted 2 solo homers and senior Phoebe Booher added a 3-run shot to highlight the Shells’ offense.

Roxana staked itself to an early 1-0 lead when Stahlhut rifled her first round tripper, a line drive over the right centerfield fence.

The Redbirds were able to knot it at 1-1 in the second when freshman Lynna Fischer got a leadoff base knock and was driven home by fellow freshman Abby Sullivan with a RBI single. Sullivan banged out 3 hits in the win for Alton.

The Shells got things going with a 2-out rally in the top of the third. Kylie Winfree drew a walk in front of a Stahlhut single and set things up for Booher. The senior cleanup hitter turned on an inside pitch and tattooed it over the left field fence to make it 4-1 in favor of Roxana.

Unfortunately for the Shells the Birds weren’t going away. Tami Wong led off a third inning that saw 11 Redbirds step to the dish. Wong’s leadoff single was one of 7 hits for Alton in the 7-run frame.

Ashlyn Betz, Fischer and Sullivan all picked up RBIs, while Wong smacked a 3-run double in her second at-bat of the inning. Roxana’s first of 8 errors in the game helped fuel the Redbirds in the inning.

Alton scored twice in the fourth, three times in the fifth and twice more in the sixth to complete the short-game victory.

The Shells scored one more run on Stahlhut’s second homer of the game in the fifth. It mirrored the first one with another whistling line drive over the right centerfield fence. Stahlhut now has 4 homers in 5 games.

It was definitely an offensive day, as the two teams combined for 21 hits and only three total strikeouts. Abby Scyoc and Alyson Haegele each had a strikeout in the circle for AHS, while Taylor Nolan picked up one for Roxana. Scyoc earned the win for Alton.

The Redbirds return to action with a doubleheader at Jersey at 10 a.m. Saturday. The Shells battle Breese Central on the road at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

ALTON 15, ROXANA 5, 6 INNINGS

SHELLS       103 010 X — 5   6 8

REDBIRDS  017 232 X — 15 15  0

REDBIRDS (3-2) — Tami Wong 2-4 2B 3 RBIs, Abby Scyoc 1-4, Ashlyn Betz 2-4 2 RBIs, Miranda Hudson 1-4, Lynna Fischer 2-4 RBI SB, Rachel McCoy 1-3 SAC RBI, Abby Sullivan 3-4 2 RBIs, Darcie Flanigan 1-3, Rachel Rathgeb 2-4 RBI.

WP — Scyoc 5.0IP 1K 2BB 6H 5R 5ER

Alyson Haegele 1.0IP 1K 1BB 0H 0R 0ER

SHELLS (0-5) — Kylie Winfree 0-2 BB, Abi Stahlhut 3-3 2 HRs 2 RBIs, Phoebe Booher 1-3 HR 3 RBIs, Madison Klaas 2-2 BB, Taylor Nolan 0-2 BB.

LP — Nolan 5.0IP 1K 0BB 12H 13R 4ER

Booher 1.0IP 0K 0BB 3H 2R 1ER

Alton head softball coach Dan Carter talks about the strong offensive performance to come back and beat Roxana 15-5 in 6 innings on Thursday at AHS.

Alton's Tami Wong discusses the Redbirds strong offensive showing, including her 3-run double in a 7-run third winning vs. Roxana on Thursday.

Roxana head coach Mike Arbuthnot discusses the shaky defense and the difficulty in containing Alton's offense after taking an early lead at AHS on Thursday during a 15-5, 6-inning loss.

SOFTBALL: Oilers freeze Redbirds
by Theo Tate March 20, 2018

      RSSPrint
oilerbird.jpg
Photo by Dan Cruz

 
oilerbird2.jpg
Photo by Dan Cruz

 
oilerbird3.jpg
Photo by Dan Cruz

 
oilerbird4.jpg
Photo by Dan Cruz

WOOD RIVER – When East Alton-Wood River senior Peyton Young crossed the plate with no outs in the bottom of the seventh against the Alton Redbirds on Tuesday at the EA-WR softball field, she put an end to a two-hour, wild scoring affair that was played under chilly conditions.

She also helped the Oilers put an end to a long losing streak to the Redbirds.

Young scored the game-winning run on a throwing error from Alton pitcher Alyson Haegele, lifting EA-WR to a 10-9 victory that snapped a 16-game losing streak to the Redbirds.

It's the first time since 2007 the Oilers celebrated a victory over the Redbirds. Last year, Alton beat EA-WR three times.

The Oilers, who were 16-18 last year, improved to 4-1 and won their third straight game. They also picked up victories over Wesclin, Carrollton and Greenville..

The Redbirds, who finished 22-12 in '17, dropped to 1-2 and have scored 29 runs. They split a doubleheader against Centralia on Saturday to start their season.

EA-WR is back in action at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday at Columbia. Alton's next game will be at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Bunker Hill.

Temperatures were in the low 40s at game time on Tuesday, which marked the first day of spring. Several players were wearing hoodies and head warmers and fans were bundled up in blankets.

Despite the conditions, the bats were heating up for both teams. The Redbirds and Oilers combined for 19 runs on 23 hits and three inside-the-park home runs. The EA-WR softball field doesn't have a fence.

Young, who played third base, led off the inning with a single and reached second on a wild pitch. Then, Rebekah Null, who was the winning pitcher, dropped a bunt to Haegele. After fielding the ball, Haegele threw the ball past first base that forced Young to score from second.

The Redbirds and Oilers combined for eight errors on defense, four for each team.

Alton stormed to a 3-0 lead after scoring a run in the first and two in the third before EA-WR came back with five in the bottom of the third to take a 5-3 lead.

The Redbirds scored three in the top of the fifth to take a 6-5 lead, but the Oilers came back with four in the fifth to lead 9-6.

Alton climbed back with two runs in the top of the seventh to tie it at 9-9. EA-WR was one strike away from winning the game when center fielder Teresa Hand dropped a fly ball hit by Kayla Aligholi that forced Abby Sullivan, who singled, to score from second to tie the game.

Morgan Moxey, Taylor Murray, Macie Flanigan and Caitlin Lemond each had two hits for the Oilers. Moxey hit a leadoff, solo inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 6-6 and start a four-run rally.

Ashlyn Betz, Tami Wong, Miranda Hudson, Rachel McCoy and Audrey Rathgeb had two hits apiece for Alton. Hudson and McCoy each hit solo inside-the-park home runs.

Null went the distance, giving up 5 earned runs on 12 hits and striking out 6.

Haegele came in relief for starting pitcher Abby Scyoc in the bottom of the sixth for the Redbirds.

EAST ALTON-WOOD RIVER 10, ALTON 9

REDBIRDS 102 030 2 — 9  12 4

OILERS 005 040 1 — 10  11 4

REDBIRDS (1-2) -- Tami Wong 2-4, Abby Scyoc 1-4, Ashlyn Betz 2-4 RBI-2, Miranda Hudson 2-3 HR RBI-2, Abby Sullivan 1-4, Rachel McCoy 2-4, Audrey Rathgeb 2-4.

LP -- Haegele 2.0IP 1K 0BB 2H 1R 0ER

Scyoc 5.0IP 3K 0BB 9H 9R 5ER

OILERS (4-1) — Morgan Moxey 2-3 HR RBI, Taylor Murray 2-4 RBI, Macie Flanigan 2-4 RBI, Peyton Young 1-4 RBI, Rebekah Null 0-2 SAC, Ashley Knight 1-3, Dakota Weldon 1-2 RBI, Caitlin Lemond 2-3 RBI.

WP — Rebekah Null 7.0IP 6K 0BB 12H 9R 5ER

East Alton-Wood River softball coach Dana Emerick discusses his team coming from behind to beat Alton 10-9 on Tuesday.

East Alton-Wood River pitcher Rebekah Null discusses her team getting a victory over Alton under chilly conditions on Tuesday.

Alton coach Dan Carter discusses his team suffering a 10-9 loss to East Alton-Wood River on Tuesday.

Wong rolls perfect seven, Redbirds split with Orphans
Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com Updated 1:26 pm, Sunday, March 18, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tami Wong
Tami Wong

A 20-run day was only good enough to earn a season-opening split for Alton Redbirds softball on Saturday.

The Redbirds beat the Centralia Orphans 9-7 in the opener before falling 17-11 in the second game of a doubleheader at Alton High in Godfrey.

Alton junior Tami Wong went 7-for-7 in her debut after earning Telegraph Large-School Player of the Year honors as a sophomore. She had two doubles and two RBIs.

In the opener, Alton overcame a 5-2 deficit with four runs in the seventh inning and three more in the sixth. Along with Wong’s four hits, the Redbirds got two doubles and two RBIs from Ashlyn Betz, two hits and two RBIs from Rachel McCoy. Winning pitcher Abby Scyoc, who also chipped in a pair of hits, went six innings before Alyson Haegele closed with a hitless seventh for the save.

In the second game, the Orphans never trailed though a 10-1 lead was trimmed to 10-9 before Centralia regained command with a five-run fifth inning. Lynna Fischer hit a three-run homer, Ashley Betz had two hits and three RBIs, and Scyoc had a pair of hits for Alton. Scyoc was handed the loss after allowing seven runs on 11 hits in four innings.

Redbirds look ahead to softball season after last year's 22-12 record
by Steven Spencer
published March 10 2018 6:52 AM
updated March 10 2018 7:01 AM
Listen to the story
0

Share1

ALTON - The Redbirds varsity softball team is preparing for their first game of the season on Saturday, March 17.

Coach Dan Carter said after a 22-12 record last season he’s excited to see what this season will have in-store after losing a few senior athletes.

 
“I thought we did a nice job last year,” Coach Carter said. “High school sports is always unique because you going loose good players but you’re always excited because you have young players to replace them. We lost a couple very good players last year, had a good group of seniors.”

Finding a good balance in the outfield is one of the biggest setbacks the Redbirds will be facing this season.

“Our big thing is going to be replacing our outfielders, we had a lot of senior outfielders last year,” Carter said. “We have a lot freshman that are going to be taking those spots and we just have to figure out which ones it’s going to be. We have a handful of them that have a lot of experience with me at the middle school but middle school sports and the varsity Southwest Conference is two different leagues.”

Alton starts the season with a cluster against Centralia and West Central at home at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 17.

It’s exciting that we have the young athletes ready to go, it’s just how quickly can they step up to where we need them to be,” Carter added.

Purchase photos from this article Print Version Submit a Sports Tip

< Previous Story
Redbirds prepare for baseball season with a young yet experienced team