Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

Big second inning paces Bulldogs over Redskins

By Gary R. Rasberry
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

St. Henry's Emily Hess, 17, slides under the tag of Celina's Leah Rose during the 2011 softball season opener for both teams at St. Henry. The Bulldogs scored six times in the second inning to post an 11-1 win over the Redskins in six innings.

ST. HENRY - Celina sent 10 batters to the plate in the top of the second inning, scoring six times and pulling away to open the 2011 softball season with an 11-1 win over St. Henry at the Wally Post Athletic Complex.
After an uneventful first inning, Danielle Uhlenhake gave up a single to Leah Rose to start the second, but then she enticed Katie Kerr to ground into a fielder's choice that forced Rose at second. Hillary Heiby followed with a double to put runners at second and third for Ashley Puschel, who set up for the bunt. The ball quickly stopped in the dirt, but Uhlenhake could not make a play, allowing courtesy runner Madi Kuhn to score the first run of the game.
The first run opened the gates. Kassandra Williams grounded out to bring home the second run of the game, followed by an RBI single by Amanda Hoying. Christine Thobe followed with a single and, after Hoying came home on a wild pitch, Abbey Zacharias belted a shot over the left-center field fence to make it 6-0. Uhlenhake allowed one more hit before getting Rose to ground out to end the six-run, seven hit inning.
"I was really happy to see our bats come out today," said Celina coach Nicole Driggs. "I said early in the season, defense would be our strength and the offense I was concerned about. I was really happy to see the girls connect and make the most production. ... It seemed it was a team effort (all nine batters got at least one hit). I'm excited to see that."
Meanwhile, Kerr was rolling along. The Redskins got a run back in the bottom of the third when Ashley Heitkamp doubled and later scored on a wild pitch, but Kerr scattered three hits and three walks over six innings of work, striking out six. When St. Henry got the bat on the ball, the Celina defense came up with several big plays.
"I told her to go up and pitch and let her defense defend," said Driggs. "She was struggling a bit at hitting spots tonight. She could get movement but not hit the spots we wanted tonight."
"She did a nice job keeping the ball down on us," said Melissa Starkey, making her debut as Redskins' skipper, of Kerr. "She got us to chase a little bit, which it one reason we hit the ball into the ground.
"We'll hit the ball. I'm not concerned about that right now,"
Both coaches had praise for one another's programs.
"We had to have our A-game for (St. Henry)," said Driggs. "I'm proud of the girls. I know we face tough competition with St. Henry."
"We always play Celina at the start of the season. They're a strong team," said Starkey. "All WBL teams are pretty good. It's a good test for us, too, because they're probably as good as any team we're going to see this year."
Hoying, batting out of the nine-spot in the batting order, went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs for Celina. Kerr, Williams, Cassie Freeman and Kylee Bader each collected two hits. with Freeman scoring twice as a courtesy runner before pinch-hitting for Puschel later in the game.
Sarah Moeder joined Heitkamp in collecting doubles on the day.
Celina continues its early-season Grand Lake circuit of games as the Bulldogs host Minster at Bill Feth Diamond today. St. Henry stays at the Wally Post Athletic Complex today to host the Fairlawn Jets.
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

St. Henry's Ally Mikesell makes the throw to first base during Monday's season-opening game with Celina.

Additional online story on this date
Some local churches have seen a recent increase in donations when compared to stagnant amounts since the economy crashed in 2008.
"Donations to the [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Production at some local companies with ties to Japan may be affected by the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country March 11.
Honda of
Ohio may allow drilling for natural gas and oil on state land, an action that could bring jobs and money to the state as well as worries over drinking water and the environment.
Celina Renewable Energy Center will be built along Meyer Road
CELINA - City council members passed final reading of an ordinance authorizing the purchase of 60 acres of land from the Floyd E. & Joanne M. Heiby Trust for the creation of the Celina Renewable Energy Center.
CELINA - A new program at Celina East Elementary School will help students with disabilities achieve reading proficiency.
Elementary guidance counselor Jenny Dippold and dean of students Tracey Dammeyer told school board members Monday about Project MORE (Mentoring Ohio for Reading Excellence).
COLDWATER - Residents may see an increase in water and sanitary sewer rates this year.
Village councilman Joe Knapschaefer, chairman of the environ
ST. HENRY - Swimsuits and coaching stipends were added to an ordinance under consideration by village council Monday night.
Council members opted t
ST. MARYS - City officials recently participated in depositions for an ongoing lawsuit filed against the city and a local contractor.
Law director Kraig Noble wrote in a report to city council that depositions will continue in the suit filed by Douglas Keith, 607 S. Main St., St. Marys.
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Michael Siefker got his 2011 season going in high fashion, striking out 12 of the 15 batters he faced in throwing a perfect game as the Bulldogs defeated Fort Recovery 12-0 in five innings on Monday at Fort Recovery.
From staff and wire reports
Marion Local graduate Cory Luebke will make the Opening Day roster of the San Diego Padres as the team began making
CELINA - If success in ACME translates to the spring baseball season, then Celina could be in for a special year.
The Bulldogs advanced to the state ACME tournament last summer and Celina's head coach Drew Braun hopes it can be a confidence booster for his squad this spring.
CELINA - Sub .500 records aren't acceptable for the Celina softball program and the last two years have the Bulldogs sporting an "Expect More" motto for this spring.
COLDWATER - A phrase that has not been heard around the Coldwater baseball program in a long time is 'work in progress' but that's exactly what Cavaliers' veteran head coach Brian Harlamert is speaking of this preseason.
COLDWATER - The Coldwater softball team will have a new coach with an inexperienced roster as the Cavaliers try to improve upon last year's 10-15 campaign.
FORT RECOVERY - The Fort Recovery baseball team remains in a rebuilding mode as the Indians are striving to find the right recipe for success.
Last year the Indians were 2-17 overall and 0-9 in Midwest Athletic Conference play with a young team that featured just four seniors.
FORT RECOVERY - Expectations are high this season for Fort Recovery's softball team.
The Indians capped a 13-15 campaign in 2010 with a sectional championship and many components of that squad are back for this year.
MARIA STEIN - Bryan Gray returns to his second year at the helm of the Marion Local baseball program with a much better feel for the players that will make up his squad.
MARIA STEIN - The Marion Local Flyers' 2010 softball season ended on a bitter note, but fourth-year coach Russ Puthoff is hoping his squad can take a step forward in the upcoming season.
MINSTER - Mike Wiss' baseball team is hoping to add to what has already proven to be a banner year in boys' athletics at Minster High School.
Aft
MINSTER - Scott Robinson is entering his first year as head coach of the Minster softball team and is cautiously optimistic toward the upcoming campaign.
NEW BREMEN - With the return of eight letterwinners New Bremen baseball coach Greg Cox is confident that his Cardinals can finish better than last year's 7-17 campaign.
NEW BREMEN - The New Bremen softball team struggled through a tough 9-14 campaign a year ago with a youthful lineup, but the Cardinals now enter this season with experience to build upon.
ROCKFORD - The 2010 record may not reflect it, but the Parkway Panthers ended last season on a high note.
The Panthers won five straight late in the year to advance to the Division IV district championship game before falling 2-1 to Crestview to end the season at 14-13.
ROCKFORD - Experience will be in abundance for the Parkway softball team this season as the Panthers look to continue the strong tradition.
The Pan
ST. HENRY - An outstanding regular season was overshadowed by an early postseason loss for the St. Henry baseball team a year ago.
John Dorner hopes an experienced team can duplicate last year's regular season (18-7 overall in 2010) and then follow it up with a strong postseason.
ST. HENRY - Melissa Starkey takes the reins of the St. Henry varsity softball team after Josh Link stepped down after winning a share of the Midwest Athletic Conference title and making a trip to the regional tournament.
ST. MARYS - There are far more questions than answers as the St. Marys Roughriders approach the baseball season.
First-year head coach Dave Huber is still trying to find the best way to utilize what he calls a deep and talented roster.
ST. MARYS - Few teams can claim that they were hit harder by graduation than St. Marys as the Roughriders are trying to find a way to replace four starters, three of whom earned All-Western Buckeye League honors a year ago.
CELINA - Dan Otten believes that a strong core of veterans could land Celina's boys and girls track teams in the Western Buckeye League championship hunt this spring.
COLDWATER - Pete Lisi is looking to his core of experienced athletes to keep the Cavaliers' track program moving in the right direction.
"Going acr
FORT RECOVERY - Brent Niekamp has been able to work with his boys' track team from the start of the spring sports season but the girls' team got a late start because of the success of the Lady Indians' basketball team.
MARIA STEIN - The Marion Local track teams are once again stocked with good numbers on both squads, and coach Matt Schmackers is looking forward to successful seasons from both the girls and the boys.
MINSTER - As Minster boys' track and field coach Larry Topp prepares to tackle his 23rd straight season of wearing the whistle for the Wildcats, this spring will provide the typical excitement for a program which captured Midwest Athletic Conference, district, and regional trophies a season ago.
NEW BREMEN - Both the boys and girls teams at New Bremen will have plenty of experience coming back to continue the strong tradition of Cardinals' track.
ROCKFORD - The Parkway track program will look to some veteran returnees to help guide the team this season.
Parkway's boys return three regional q
ST. HENRY - Numbers are up for the St. Henry track and field program. After having just 34 athletes between the boys and girls teams last season, Redskins' coach Mike Eyink nearly has that total in just the boys team alone, while the girls team has nearly doubled in size from a year ago.
ST. MARYS - The grand opening of St. Marys' new track may still be a year away, but that doesn't mean there isn't a reason for the Roughriders to be excited this spring.
CELINA - It's going to be a challenging year for Celina's veteran tennis coach Jan Morrison.
The Bulldogs are loaded with experience after losing j
ST. MARYS - Is this the year that the St. Marys Roughriders are able to take the next step to win a Western Buckeye League tennis championship?
Veteran Roughriders' head coach Brice Brenneman is hoping that his veteran roster can help St. Marys to its first WBL tennis title since 1974.