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Emmanuel Christian's Allysa Coleman scores a run as she beats the throw to Catholic Central catcher Paige Lewis during Monday's game. Staff photo by Bill Lackey
Emmanuel Christian continues its success
Run to a second straight MBC title has yielded a No. 8 seed in sectional tournament for Lions.
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By Michael Cooper,
Staff Writer
11:47 PM Tuesday, May 10, 2011
SPRINGFIELD — The season has been a slow, rain-soaked affair for the Emmanuel Christian Academy softball squad.
But that hasn’t stopped them from piling up the wins — when they’ve been able to play.
The Lions (9-3, 7-0) have already clinched at least a share of their second straight Metro Buckeye Conference championship. A victory over Middletown Christian on Saturday and they’ll win it outright.
Nonconference games, however, have been few and far between.
“We’ve basically been rained out,” said Lions coach Dan Beekman said, “And because we play a lot of the teams in other leagues, those conference games come first. Everybody has had the same challenges we’ve had with water. When they see a dry day, they’ll put a league game in that spot.”
Over the last four years, the Lions have grown from a start-up program to a two-time league champion, despite having low numbers of players. This year, they have just 10 players — many of which are three-sport athletes.
“They’ve all contributed,” Beekman said. “It makes a big difference when you have the attitude my girls have had. They’re all happy and playing well. It’s a big responsibility. I tell them everyday, ‘You can’t be sick, get in trouble with your parents, you can’t be late for school.’ If just one of them doesn’t make it, we’re down to the minimum.”
The Tigers have had three seniors — Haley Lewis (.413), Mayelin Beekman (9-3, 1.34 ERA, .435) and Kristina Gosney (.395) — who’ve helped turn the program around.
“They’ve been a big part of what we’ve accomplished,” Beekman said.
Beekman said the team used several different tactics, including going bowling, to help keep them having fun during all the rainouts.
“The girls came out rambunctious and started really playing well,” Beekman said. “We got after a lot of the teams, but then we just got cancelled one after another. You can only inspire kids so many times inside a gymnasium.”
Kaila Beekman leads the team with a .512 average, while Breanna Coffman is hitting .474. Both have 17 RBIs.
On the basepaths, the Lions have stolen 89 total bases, an average of 7.4 per game.
Tuesday, the Lions hosted their first-ever tournament game against Miami Valley, a team they beat twice in the regular season.
They were also awarded the No. 8 seed by the other coaches in the Division IV, Dayton sectional.
“They’re starting to respect us a little bit,” Beekman said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0365, mcooper@coxohio.com or on Twitter @SNS_Wizard.
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