Lakota West junior Alyssa Hedric was one of the top hitters in the Greater Miami Conference last season. She has committed to play softball at Miami (Ohio). Photo taken by Joseph Fuqua II.
Lakota West junior Alyssa Hedric has committed to continue her softball career at Miami (Ohio) University, according to the Lakota West athletic department. Hedric hit leadoff and played center field for Lakota West last season.
Hedric, who helped lead the Firebirds to the state final four her freshman year and to a Greater Miami Conference title in 2012, was named first team all-GMC last season.
Last season, Hedric led her team in doubles with 10 and was third in the GMC in that category. She also co-led Lakota West in runs scored with 24, was third on her team with 26 hits and second on her team with 6 stolen bases. Hedric finished the year with a .306 batting average and a .427 on-base percentage.
In October, her junior teammate Ashley Sharp committed to play softball at Wright State University. Like Hedric, Sharp was named first team all-GMC in 2012.
As a sophomore, Sharp made 26 appearances, totaled 173.1 innings, struck out 178 hitters, had 11 shutouts, a 1.09 earned run average and posted a 20-5 win-loss record. Sharp also led her team with three home runs and 21 runs batted in, while having a .295 batting average.
According to the Greater Miami Conference website, Lakota West will open the 2013 season at Middletown on Monday, April 1.
Lakota West sophomore Ashley Sharp led team her team in runs batted in and led the GMC in wins on the mound. Photo taken during a game in April by Amanda Davidson.
Lakota West junior Ashley Sharp recently verbally committed to continue her softball career at Wright State University, according to the Lakota West athletic department.
Sharp, who helped lead the Firebirds to a Greater Miami Conference title in 2012, was named first team all-GMC last season.
As a sophomore, Sharp made 26 appearances, totaled 173.1 innings, struck out 178 hitters, had 11 shutouts, a 1.09 earned run average and posted a 20-5 win-loss record. Sharp also led her team with three home runs and 21 runs batted in, while having a .295 batting average.
Michael Conrad currently leads the GMC in strikeouts with 44. Photo taken by Tony Tribble.
The athletic departments at Lakota East and Lakota West high schools recently named their athletes of the week. Junior Lea Buckenmyer and senior Michael Conrad received the honor at Lakota East, while sophomores Grant Schuermann and Ashley Sharp were honored at Lakota West.
While Buckenmyer and Conrad were the first to be acknowledged this spring at Lakota East, Lakota West has also honored seniors Alex Vohland and Amanda Shelby as athletes of the week this April.
Lea Buckenmyer has been the Thunderhawks go-to pitcher this spring, pitching in 11 games and having a 9-2 record. She also has 48 strikeouts, three shutouts and a 1.28 earned run average in 71 total innings. At the plate, she has also been one of Lakota East’s top hitters – leading the team in runs, doubles, triples, runs batted in and on-base percentage. She also has a batting average of .479. Overall, her team is currently 12-2 overall and 7-1 in the Greater Miami Conference.
Like last season, Michael Conrad has been one of the most dominating pitchers in the region. In four starts, Conrad is 2-1 and has an earned run average of 1.75. He also has 44 strikeouts in 24 innings pitched. Conrad, who was honored as The Enquirer’s spring baseball athlete of the year last spring, has signed on to play baseball at the University of Cincinnati.
Grant Schuermann has excelled on the mound and at the plate for the Firebirds this season. According to the GMC website, he leads the team with a .405 batting average and is also 2-0 as a starting pitcher this spring. Schuermann received the honor, however, by pitching two complete games in wins against Princeton (12-1) April 2 and against Kings (5-0) April 7. In addition, he doubled in both contests.
Like Buckenmyer, Ashley Sharp has been go-to pitcher this spring, pitching in 13 games and having a record of 10-2. She also has 68 strikeouts, four shutouts and a 1.32 earned run average in 79.1 innings. At the plate, she is second on the team in hits, doubles and in batting average (.350). She leads the team in runs batted in. She has been a big reason why, Lakota West is currently 11-3 overall and 8-0 in the GMC.
On March 29, Alex Vohland led Lakota West with 17 kills in a win against Centerville. Since then, Lakota West has continued to play well on the court and has an overall record of 9-0 and a 3-0 mark within the GMC. Vohland has been key reason for the strong start, leading the GMC with 130 kills.
Meanwhile, Amanda Shelby took first place in both the 1600-meter and 3200-meter runs at the Fairfield Invitational. This past Wednesday, Shelby finished second in both the 1600-meter and 3200-meter runs at the Ralph Bergdoll Invitational in Miamisburg.
Trailing 3-0, the Lakota West Firebirds stormed back with a five-run sixth inning en route to a 6-3 win against Mason Wednesday at Mason Middle School.
The Firebirds – No. 1 in The Enquirer’s coaches’ poll – scored five runs in the inning on four hits and on one momentous error.
“We played great through six innings, but we didn’t finish,” Mason head coach Liann Muff said. “When you don’t finish against a good team, that is what happens.”
The Firebirds got on the board when a ground ball hit by sophomore outfielder Kat Burbrink scored two runs after Mason second baseman Taylor Stewart threw the ball past her first baseman.
A few batters later, Lakota West sophomore pitcher Ashley Sharp broke a 3-3 tie by driving in two runs on a double to right-center field.
“It shows a lot about the girls…a little adversity set in and they responded,” Lakota West head coach Keith Castner said. “That is a credit to the girls concentrating and believing in themselves.”
Sharp, who walked five batters and hit three others, came through when it matter.
“Being only a sophomore, she has just done a great job for us this year as a pitcher and as a hitter,” Castner said of Sharp, who improved her record to 10-2 on the year. “When she hits the ball she hits it hard and she just comes through.”
It appeared for most of the game, that Mason sophomore pitcher Sarah Browning was going to be the one to lead her team to victory.
After allowing the first batter to reach on a double to begin the game, Browning retired 13 straight hitters. Through five innings, she had only given up two hits, struck out four batters and walked none.
She also got run support, with the Comets scoring a run in the fourth inning off a double by junior rightfielder Macy Hubbard and two more in the fifth by a way of a two-run home run over the centerfield fence by senior catcher Margo Hutchison.
“We have yet to play our best game by any stretch,” Muff said. “Until we can string together an entire game, this up and down is going to continue to happen. We just have to get mentally tougher and put together seven innings.”
Meanwhile, the Firebirds added an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning when sophomore Madison Bridges collided with Hutchison at home plate. The collision jarred the ball out of Hutchison’s glove and forced the senior catcher to leave the game. The severity of her injury was unknown at the end of the contest.
Despite the loss, Mason – No. 4 in The Enquirer’s poll – came close to being the first team from the Greater Miami Conference to defeat the Firebirds.
“We are so solid,” Sharp said of her teammates, who are now 8-0 in the GMC. “We get along so well, which is great because some teams have a lot of drama. Everyone here just likes each other.”
