The Crest Lady Lancers had a few positive moments despite wrapping up the regular season with a 20-3, 16-0 sweep by Uniontown.
The Lady Lancers had a brief lead in the opener after senior shortstop Delaney Ramsey drove in the first of her team-leading three hits in the opening frame.
“From the beginning until now, we’ve definitely improved a ton,” Crest coach Dakotah Sporing said. “We’re more disciplined at the plate. We throw the ball with a little bit of pop. Our fielding has been more consistent. We’re definitely growing, but obviously we still have some stuff to work on.”
After Uniontown scored 11 unanswered runs, Crest responded with a pair of runs after junior outfielder Aylee Beckmon stole home and junior first baseman McKenna Powell hit an RBI single driving in senior second baseman Karlee Boots.
Powell and Ramsey ended the opener tied for the team lead in RBIs with one each. Ramsey also had a team-leading three hits and was successful in 3 of 3 at-bats. Boots, junior catcher Kaelin Nilges and senior outfielder Cursten Allen had two hits.
After a rough patch in the opener, Crest’s pitchers had a few highlights in the finale. Despite taking the loss, Nilges had a team-leading two strikeouts before handing over the reins to Powell in the fourth inning.
At the plate, Nilges, Boots and junior outfielder Kinley Edgerton each tallied a hit.
“I was proud of the seniors this year,” Sporing said. “In the beginning, we were arguing and bickering at each other. Delaney and Cursten played for a while and helped nip that. Boots hadn’t played since she was seven or eight years old, so having them here made it a pretty good year.”
With the loss, the Lady Lancers fall to 1-20 overall and wait to find out from Kansas High School Activities Association officials who they will face in the opening round of the regional tournament. Sporing said what makes the playoffs exciting is the Lady Lancers come in as a complete unknown and many teams have not seen the progress they’ve made over the past few months.
Crest High School’s Aylee Beckmon connects with a pitch in the opener of Monday’s doubleheader against Uniontown.
“We’ve cut down on strikeouts and errors. We just need to piece it all together one time and we can do something cool,” Sporing said. “In one (playoff) game, you never know what can happen. If we throw well and hit well, we can do something.”
