Ashton Gazette: Week Six

The AFC Lady Raiders started the week by hosting Freeport Aquin on Senior Night.  SM and LM celebrated their last home game of the season by helping the Lady Raiders defeat Aquin 2-1.  Aquin held a 1-0 lead until the sixth inning.  CK led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple and reached home on a pass ball to tie the score at one.  In the bottom of the seventh, CH reached on a walk and scored the game winning run on a two out double by LM.  CK led the Lady Raiders with two hits and CH and LM each added one hit.  On Thursday, the Lady Raiders traveled to Freeport to attempt the season Sweep of Aquin.  AFC had a rough first inning and Aquin took a 3-0 lead in the first and add another run in the third inning.  The Lady Raiders were held scoreless until the fifth inning.  LM started the inning with a single, BG added another single and both scored on a single by LM.  CK hit a three run home run to give the Lady Raiders a 5-4 lead.  AFC took advantage of two Aquin errors in the sixth inning and added one more run to their lead.  The Lady Raiders completed the season sweep of Aquin by defeating them 6-4.  Seven players had hits for AFC: CK, AW, BG, SM, LM, LM and CH.  The Lady Raiders finished their week by traveling to conference leading Dakota.  AFC started the game by scoring four runs and added two more in the second before being  shut out for the rest of the game.  Dakota took advantage of nineteen hits to score seventeen runs to defeat the Lady Raiders in five innings.  BG, LM and CK each had two hits and SM, LM and CH each added a hit.  The Lady Raiders are now 13-12 overall and 7-8 in conference.  AFC will finish the regular season next week with games against Pecatonica and Somanauk.  They will travel to Fulton for regionals on Tuesday, May 19th for their first round game against Sterling Newman.

Ashton Gazette: Week Four

The Lady Raiders kicked off week four of their season by defeating Dakota 13-10.  LM led AFC with three hit and three RBIs.  SM and MP both added two RBIs.  The Lady Raiders took advantage of nine walks and two errors by Dakota to move runners into scoring position.  On Tuesday, the Lady Raiders hosted Forreston/Polo.  Forreston/Polo forced five errors and had nine hits.  AFC was silenced until the sixth inning when they scored two runs.  They were defeated by a final score of four to two.  LM led the Lady Raiders with two hits and an RBI.  AW, LM and SM also had hits for AFC.  Forreston/Polo completed the season sweep on Thursday by defeating AFC 10 to 1.  BG led the Lady Raiders off by reaching first on a bunt and was batted in on a triple by CH.  The Lady Raiders managed five more hits but were unable to score another run.  CH led the Lady Raiders with three hits.  BG, AW, LM and CK also had hits for AFC.  AFC finished the week with hot bats against West Carroll.  They had a season high sixteen hits and defeated West Carroll 9-5.  All nine players for AFC had a hit. CK and CH led the Lady Raiders with three hits each.  LM, AW and BG all had two hits.  LM, SS and CH each had two RBIs. The Lady Raiders finished the week 2-2, bringing their overall record to 8-8 and 5-5 in conference.

Ashton Gazette 2015: Week Three

The Lady Raiders played seven games during week three of their season.  On Monday, they hosted Pecatonica.  AFC was no hit by Pecatonica and were defeated 6 to 0.  LM and SM were the only base runners for AFC.  On Tuesday, AFC hosted Orangeville for a double header.  The Lady Raiders struggled defensively during game one and committed eight errors.  Addison Wetzel, BG and LM each had a hit for AFC.  Orangeville defeated the Lady Raiders 11 to 1 in six innings.  Orangeville completed the season sweep of AFC by winning game two with a final score of 13 to 2 in five innings.  LM led the Lady Raiders with two hits.  LM, SS and LM also had hits for AFC.  The Lady Raiders traveled to Earlville for their fourth game of the week.   AFC started the game with two runs and scored again in the third and fifth innings.  LM led the Lady Raiders with four hits.  AW added two hits and LM, BG and MP each added one.  Despite nine hits, the Lady Raiders fell short and were defeated 7 to 5.  On Friday, the Lady Raiders traveled to South Beloit and completed the season sweep by defeating the Sobos 10 to 6.  AFC busted out for fifteen hits.  All nine players contributed hits and AW, BG, LM, LM and CH all had multiple hits.  LM led the team with three hits and BG hit an in the park home run. The Lady Raiders finished the week with a double header against Indian Creek.  AFC out hit Indian Creek 12 to 2 during the first game, but struggle to get runners home and were defeated 4 to 3.  SM and LM both had multiple hit games.  During the second game, the bats stayed hot for AFC and they had 12 more hits.  This time they were able to get runners home and defeated Indian Creek 7 to 1.  BG, LM, CKand CH each contributed multiple hits.  The Lady Raiders finished the week 2 and 5 and moved to 6 and 6 on the season.

Ashton Gazette 2015: Week Two

The Lady Raiders opened the second week of games with their first loss of the season.  Pearl City defeated AFC 13-1.  The Lady Raiders committed eight errors and were limited to six hits.  LM led the team with two hits and scored the only run for AFC.  AW, LM , CK and LM also had hits.  AFC rebounded on Tuesday and picked up their fourth win of the season against South Beloit.  The Lady Raiders took a three run lead in the first inning.  South Beloit scored four in the second and AFC was able to tie the game at four in the bottom of the third. AFC led 9-6 going into the seventh inning when South Beloit rallied and scored five runs to go ahead 11-9.  SS led off the bottom of the seventh with her second hit of the game.  After a walk, BG hit a two run double to tie the game at 11-11.  CH reached on an error as BG scored the winning run.  AFC ended the game with a total of thirteen hits.  BG and LM led AFC with three hits each.  AW, LM, CK, SS and CH also had hits.  CH picked up her first win of the season and CK picked up her first save.  The Lady Raiders are now 4-1 and 3-0 in conference.

Ashton Gazette 2015: Week One

The Lady Raiders opened the 2015 season with a strong offensive performance against Hinkley-Big Rock.  AFC tallied sixteen hits, including a combined four home runs hit from LM, BG and a pair by CK.  AFC scored a minimum of three runs in each inning and defeated Hinkley-Big Rock 22-4 in five innings.  CK pitched one inning and picked up the win for the Lady Raiders.  LM and CH also saw time in the circle.  The AFC Pitching Staff combined for nine strikeouts, two walks and three earned runs.  The Lady Raiders hosted Durand for their home opener on Tuesday.  Similar to last year, it took AFC 10 innings to defeat Durand 3-2.  CH scored the winning run from second base on a single by CK.  Hits for AFC came from LM, LM, CK, LM and BG.  CK went the distance for the Lady Raiders and picked up her second win of the season.  On Thursday the Lady Raiders traveled to Durand for a rematch.  This time they out hit Durand 12-5.  They scored three in the third inning and two in the fourth inning.  Durand made a strong push in the seventh inning and was able to score three runs before AFC was able to pick up three outs.  LM, AW, LM and BG all had multiple hit games.  The Lady Raiders finished their opening week 3-0 overall and 2-0 in conference.

Day 274: Sports Reporter Season Wrap Up

Daily Blog Challenge Day 274/365

AFC Lady Raiders finished the 2014 Softball Season with a 10-1 loss to Milledgeville in the first round of regionals.  Despite having eight base runners, the Lady Raiders were only able to score one run.  The lone Raider hit of the game came from LM.  The Lady Raiders finished the season 4-20.  Highlights from the season include hitting three home runs (BN, CK and LM), beating Durand in ten innings, having a pitching staff with a 1.42 ERA and having a player, LM, named Athlete of the Week.  Individually, three AFC Season Records were tied or broken and three more records came very close to being rewritten.  CK tied the doubles record with 8.  She also set the records for highest batting average at .406 and lowest ERA at .799.  The Lady Raider Coaching Staff is proud of the improvement the team made throughout the year and looks forward to continuing that growth during the 2015 season.

Day 260: Sports Writer Week Six

Daily Blog Challenge Day 260/365

The AFC Lady Raider Softball Team played three games last week.  They started the week by traveling to Orangeville.  The Lady Raiders were limited to three hits:  one each by LM, LM and KC.  The Lady Raiders were able to score one run in the third, but it was not enough and they were defeated by Orangeville 11-1.  On Tuesday the Lady Raiders traveled to Milledgeville.  AFC was once again limited to three hits: one each by LM, CK and AW.  AFC was defeated by a score of 12-4.  During the final game of the week, AFC hosted Milledgeville.  AFC managed to score six runs on nine hits, but still fell to Milledgeville 18-6.  LM, KC and BG all had multi-hit games.  The AFC JV Softball team picked up two wins against Milledgeville and a third against Kirkland to improve their season record to 9-4.  BN hit her first homerun of the season in Milledgeville.

Day 253: Sports Writer Week Five

Daily Blog Challenge Day 253/365

The Lady Raiders started week five of their season by hosting Forreston/Polo. Forreston/Polo jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. They had another big inning in the fifth and defeated AFC by a final score of 19-2. AFC was limited to four hits; two by LM and one each by CK and LM.  AFC traveled to German Valley on Thursday for a rematch against Forreston/Polo.  AFC scored one run in the first and three runs in both the third and fourth innings to take a 7-3 lead.  Forreston/Polo responded by tieing the game in the bottom of the fourth and took the lead in the fifth inning.  AFC was not able to recover and lost 11-7. The Lady Raiders had nine hits, including doubles by LK and CK.  AFC ended week five of their season by defeating LaMoille/Ohio 15-0 in three innings, bringing their season record to 4-13. The Lady Raider JV team picked up their sixth win of the season defeating Forreston/Polo 12-2.

Day 246: Sports Writer Week Four

Daily Blog Challenge Day 246/365

The AFC Lady Raiders started week four of their season by picking up their third win by defeating Pecatonica 2-1.  Pecatonica took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth.  The Lady Raiders were limited to two hits, but were able to score two runs in the bottom of the fifth. The game was called after five innings due to weather.  On Tuesday, AFC hosted Orangeville.  The two teams combined for nineteen runs and twenty hits.  Orangeville scored in each of the first five innings.  The Lady Raiders started chipping away in the third inning, but were never able to gain the lead.  Despite having runners on base in the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Raiders were unable to score the tying run and lost 10-9.  During their final game of the week, AFC hosted Amboy.  Offense was again plentiful with both teams combining for seventeen runs and fifteen hits.  Once again AFC found themselves down in the first inning.  The Lady Raiders were able to score two runs in the third inning and another two runs in the sixth inning.  Going into the bottom of the seventh they were down 9-4.  AFC was able to score four runs, but were unable to get the tying run across the plate and lost 9-8.  After four weeks of softball, the Lady Raiders are 3-5 in conference and 3-11 overall.  The Lady Raider JV Softball team picked up three wins to bring their overall record to 5-3.

Day 239: Sports Writer Week Three

Daily Blog Challenge Day 239/365

The AFC Lady Raiders played a double header in South Beloit during week three of their season.  In game one, the Lady Raiders picked up their second win of the season by defeating South Beloit 10-8.  South Beloit led the game until the 6th inning when the Lady Raiders scored five runs to take a 9-7 lead.  South Beloit was able to score a run in bottom of the 6th and the Lady Raiders added another run in the top of the 7th to secure the win.  AFC had fourteen hits and five players had a multi-hit game.  South Beloit started game two by scoring  six runs in the first inning.  The Lady Raiders scored three in the bottom of the first inning, but were never able to get the lead.  Despite seven hits, the Lady Raiders were only able to score five runs and lost game two by a score of 13-5.  After three weeks of games the Lady Raiders are 2-8.

Day 232: Sports Writer Week Two

Daily Blog Challenge Day 232/365

The AFC Lady Raider Softball team started week two of their season with their first win of the season by defeating Durand 7-6 in the bottom of the 11th inning on a bases loaded walk. CK was the winning pitcher. On Thursday, the Lady Raiders traveled to Durand and were defeated 25-4.  On Friday, AFC traveled to Beardstown, Illinois for the Lady Tiger Showcase. They started the tournament by playing Quincy Notre Dame.  The Lady Raiders were limited to four hits and were defeated by Notre Dame 18-3.  In their second game of the night, the Lady Raiders took on Triopia.  Despite 2 home runs, one by CK and one by LM and twelve team hits the Lady Raiders were defeated 20-8. Saturday morning the Lady Raiders took on New Berlin and were defeated 11-3.  In their final game of the tournament, AFC fell to Beardstown 2 by a score of 18-3.  "Overall it was a great experience for our team and we would like to thank all of the parents for their help and support over the weekend" said Coach Wren. The Lady Raiders finished week two of their season with an overall record of 1-8.

Day 225: Rookie Sports Writer

Daily Blog Challenge Day 225/365

Part of my duties as assigned as the Head Softball Coach is writing an article each week about our season.  I like writing, so it is not completely painful and I am glad I helped with writing articles for the local paper when I was in High School.

I find myself very far behind on my Blog Challenge, so I figured posting these articles would be a way to help me catch up.  I also hope to get feedback and learn how to be a better writer.

AFC Softball:  Week of April 7th

The AFC Lady Raider Softball team started week two of their season with their first win of the season by defeating Durand 7-6 in the bottom of the 11th inning on a bases loaded walk. CK was the winning pitcher. On Thursday, the Lady Raiders traveled to Durand and were defeated 25-4.  On Friday, AFC traveled to Beardstown, Illinois for the Lady Tiger Showcase. They started the tournament by playing Quincy Notre Dame.  The Lady Raiders were limited to four hits and were defeated by Notre Dame 18-3.  In their second game of the night, the Lady Raiders took on Triopia.  Despite 2 home runs, one by CK and one by LM and twelve team hits the Lady Raiders were defeated 20-8. Saturday morning the Lady Raiders took on New Berlin and were defeated 11-3.  In their final game of the tournament, AFC fell to Beardstown 2 by a score of 18-3.  "Overall it was a great experience for our team and we would like to thank all of the parents for their help and support over the weekend" said Coach Wren. The Lady Raiders finished week two of their season with an overall record of 1-8.