Young but balanced in the field and at the plate is how head coach Ed Wilkerson describes the 2012 Allen County Community College softball team.
Graduation, as it will do in the community college ranks, rolled the Red Devils into the younger side for this season. They only have three sophomores returning off last year’s 41-19 squad.
“Yes, we’re young, but our freshmen bring good energy and athletic abilities to the team,” Wilkerson said. “We have a solid group of players who get the job done offensively and defensively. I like our balance.”
Allen County opened the 2012 season today at home against Ottawa University’s junior varsity. The games were played at the ACCC softball field.
The Red Devils were slated to open in a classic tournament over the weekend in Oklahoma, but the event was canceled.
Back for the Red Devils are sophomores Alex Hill, Ashley Ribelin and Erin Schwant.
Hill earned Region VI District E second-team honors as a freshman pitcher for ACCC. Hill was 16-9 pitching for ACCC with an ERA of 2.91. She had 105 strikeouts and gave up 205 hits. She had 24 hits with a batting average of .296.
“Alex will see an expanded roll offensively for us this season. When she’s not pitching, she’ll be our designated hitter,” Wilkerson said.
Ribelin started in center field every other game for the Red Devils last year. She hit .159 with seven hits, scoring three runs and batting in two runs. Ribelin will be back in center field for ACCC this season.
Schwant will play shortstop or second base for the Red Devils. As a freshman, she batted .221 with 15 hits and scored 10 runs. She had five RBIs.
“Our sophomores are more comfortable and relaxed as players. They are good team leaders for our younger players,” Wilkerson said.
Hill leads a pitching corps of three for the ACCC. The two freshman pitchers are Keelyn Bonar of Rose Hill and Audra Nelson of Holton.
“Alex pitches high in the zone while Audra uses the lower part. Keelyn moves the ball around a lot in the strike zone,” Wilkerson said. “I’m confident that all three pitchers will do good jobs of throwing strikes and keeping us in games this season.”
Mary Reilly of Cherryvale and Lauren Poertner of Osage City are Allen County’s catchers. Wilkerson said Reilly is the more vocal catcher and Poertner has the better arm of the two.
“Both are working well with our pitchers,” Wilkerson said.
