Sports

Wildcats vs. Cougars: 2011 Softball Opener

Varsity softball teams from Eureka and Affton High Schools started their seasons Tuesday afternoon in 100 degree-plus temperatures. But were their bats just as hot?

Tuesday afternoon brought the competition of two teams in purple and gold all the way around, the Eureka High School Wildcats vs. Affton High School Cougars. It was the opening game for Eureka's softball team, headed by coaches Mark Mosley, Jim Daffron and Anna Voigt, as well as Affton's team led by coach Erica Meyer.

While there were a few close plays, pulled ahead and left the Affton Athletic Association complex with a 15-0 victory.

With 13 players on the Affton roster, Meyer said six of her starters graduated last year, leaving only three returning players. Prior to Tuesday's game, she said the team's two starting pitchers were injured so her typical catcher was performing as the pitcher.

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"I'm hoping to focus on fundamentals today," Meyer said before the game. "We have a lot of players in new positions. In fact, very few are playing the positions they thought they'd be in."

Eureka racked up 12 runs during the first inning. One series of plays led to a grand slam:  Allie Craft got a base hit. Jessica Pooire got hit by a pitch. Then Syd Tockman walked. With the bases loaded, Kelsey Tepen hit an in-the-park home run, clearing the bases.

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Affton's pitcher went through a streak during which she walked in some runs, making it an even dozen.

During the second inning, Affton's batters couldn't get much traction. The first batter was thrown out at first base, a second one struck out and the third hit a pop fly to the outfield.

Eureka made a few adjustments to their line up by switching out players: Jenny Weiss, Allie Craft and Jamie Fowle.

During the third inning, Eureka's Kristin McIntyre hit a triple, which enabled another runner to score for the Wildcats, putting Eureka ahead 13-0. Then Allie Webb scored to push the runs to 14-0.

At the top of the fourth inning, Eureka switched pitchers from Maddie Krumrey to Shelby Faulkner. Faulkner walked the first batter, but struck out the second one. The third Affton batter got a solid base hit, sparking a rally for a few minutes. With two down, Affton had a chance to score, but the runner was thrown out at the home plate.

Mosley said the goal for this year's Eureka varsity softball team is to win district and conference. "Parkway South is always the big dog on campus to watch."

With 15 players on the Eureka roster, Mosley said the team definitely plans to make a run at the state championship. "Our team is deep, and they are all players we can trust to put in to the game to do a great job. The players on our bench would be starters on other varsity teams."

But first balls first.

Mosley said they already were looking at the schedules being laid out for upcoming tournaments. "Oakville lost some of its key players, but always has a good team. You never know about , and I hear Marquette is better this year."

Eureka next plays the Washington High School team at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in Lakeview Park in Washington, MO.

Editor's Note: Affton High does not have a junior varsity softball team this year, so there was no corresponding JV team on Tuesday.


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