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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.

A total of 12 Lakota high school softball players were recently selected to the Greater Miami Conference first and second teams. Lakota East had four first-team selections, while Lakota West had three.

Making the first team from Lakota East were junior Lea Buckenmyer (led team with a .432 batting average and with 19 wins), senior Ainsley Ellison (led team in runs, hits and stolen bases – she also hit .430) senior Alyssa Grevenkamp (hit .337) and senior Kim Rollins (hit .352).

Lakota West honorees included sophomore Alyssa Hedric (lead team in doubles and tied for lead in runs scored), senior Amanda Lahti (tied on team in runs scored, also hit .330) and sophomore Ashley Sharp (led team with 21 runs batted in and led GMC in wins with 20).

• Lakota East softball team statistics
• Lakota West softball team statistics

Second-team selections include sophomore Kadey Astrop, sophomore Taylor Fair and sophomore Gracie Sprockett, all from Lakota East; as well as sophomore Kathleen Burbrink and senior Jessica Burke, both from Lakota West.

Both Lakota varsity softball teams finished at the top of the GMC standings – Lakota West took first place with a 23-6 overall record and a 16-2 mark within the GMC, while Lakota East finished in second place with 22-8 overall record and a 15-3 mark in conference play.

In addition to the student athletes, Lakota West head coach Keith Castner was selected as the GMC coach of the year. Castner earned his 300th career win in April and led Lakota West to its first GMC title since 2009.

Posted in: Sports, Spring sports |

Tags: Tags: Ainsley Ellison, Alyssa Grevenkamp, Alyssa Hedric, Amanda Lahti, Ashley Sharp, Gracie Sprockett, Jessica Burke, Kadey Astrop, Kathleen Burbrink, Lakota East, Lakota East softball, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West softball, Lakota West sports, Lea Buckenmyer, Taylor Fair

To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.

Construction starts on Millikin Road – Beginning last Monday, Millikin Road in Liberty Township closed between the north and south legs of LeSourdsville West Chester Road for an improvement project. During the construction, local access to the closed portion of Millikin Road will be maintained for residents living within this section only. All other motorists and thru traffic will be required to use the posted detour. The road is tentatively scheduled to reopen the week of June 4, 2012.

Lakota West softball coach wins 300th game – WestChesterBuzz.com reported last Monday that longtime Lakota West softball coach, Keith Castner, won his 300 game that past Saturday. He became the 31st softball coach to accomplish the feat in the state of Ohio, according to the Ohio High School Athletic Association record book.

Conrad breaks Lakota strikeout record – WestChesterBuzz.com reported last Monday that Lakota East ace Michael Conrad broke the Lakota school district career strikeout record. The previous record had been held since 1980. Conrad, who The Cincinnati Enquirer baseball player of the year and the Greater Miami Conference baseball player of the year last spring, has signed on to play ball at the University of Cincinnati.

Former county auditor begins paying off $4M penalty – Sheila McLaughlin reported last week that former Butler County Auditor Kay Rogers has to shell out $58,967.74 from her savings to start paying off a $4 million tab in a fiberoptics scandal that landed her in federal prison. Federal authorities wanted to garnish all of the money — $250,000 — from Rogers’ retirement accounts. But Rogers had argued that her children needed something to live on and pay the mortgage while she was in prison for two years.

Mellow Mushroom to open location in West Chester – Mellow Mushroom, a pizza restaurant and pub chain with a bit of a hippie vibe, will open an outpost in West Chester this summer. Kevin Molony, who also owns the Mellow Mushroom in Wilder, is shooting for a mid-July opening at the former Rafferty’s, 9238 Floer Drive and Union Center Boulevard.

Townships announce policy on weather warning sirens – It was announced last week that West Chester and Liberty Townships have negotiated an intergovernmental agreement and policy for the activation of its outdoor weather warning sirens. Under the proposed policy, sirens will be activated under slightly different parameters in each jurisdiction.

Lakota West volleyball team off to best start in school history – The Lakota West volleyball team broke its record for best start to a season and most consecutive wins. The team had won 12 straight before losing abbreviated matches last weekend. The team’s coach, Christy Switzer, also passed the 100-win mark for her career at Lakota West.

Fox’s Pizza Den to open in May – Fox’s Pizza Den, a pizza chain started in Pittsburgh in 1971, will have a Cincinnati location this spring when it opens at the Bridgewater Falls shopping complex in Fairfield Township. Vaughn Lewis, owner of Fox’s Pizza Den, is aiming to open the location by the end of May.

Lakota East defeats rival to take top spot in GMC – Lakota East snapped a four-game losing streak against Lakota West and moved into sole possession of first place in the Greater Miami Conference after a 3-1 victory at the Hawks Nest Thursday. Only a game separates the two rivals in the GMC standings.

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Sophomore first baseman Taylor Fair came up with the big hit and placed a controversial game-ending tag on a Lakota West baserunner to secure a 3-1 victory against its school district rival at the Hawks Nest Thursday.

The big hit occurred in the bottom of the fifth, with the score tied 1-1, Fair drove in two runs with her two-out single up the middle.

The win snaps a four-game losing streak against Lakota West and gives the Thunderhawks sole possession of first place in the Greater Miami Conference.

After the game, Lakota East head coach Steve Castner downplayed the significance of the win.

“It is so early in the year,” Castner said. “We still have to see a lot of tough opponents, so it is nice to get a win whoever it is against. It doesn’t really matter because we just want to win.”

Lakota East sophomore Kadey Astrop celebrates her double during a Lakota East 3-1 win against rival Lakota West April 19, 2012. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber.

The win, however, did feature a controversial finish when the home plate umpire overruled the base umpire on the final out of the game.

With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Lakota West sophomore Kat Burbrink grounded the ball to Lakota East shortstop Alyssa Grevenkamp. The senior’s throw was high and in front of the bag, forcing Fair to catch the ball then tag Burbrink.

“I had a good view of the play and I clearly saw that she got the tag,” said Castner, who is in dugout right by first base. “The base umpire, with the position he was in, couldn’t change his call, but the home plate umpire clearly saw it.”

Meanwhile, standing along the third baseline, Lakota West head coach Keith Castner was upset to see the game end on a reversed call.

“When I heard my first base coach say that the base umpire said, ‘she totally missed her,’ that sparked me back up,” Keith Castner said. “I know that it is only one play, but it is the top of the seventh and we have our No. 3 batter coming up. You never know what might happen.

“But, in the end, they scored more runs than us tonight.”

BOX – W-Buckenmyer (13-2, 6 K’s). L-Sharp (13-4, 5 K’s). LE-Astrop 2B, Grevenkamp 2B, RBI, Fair 2 RBIs. LW-Sharp RBI. Records: LE 16-2, 11-1 in GMC. LW 15-5, 10-2 in GMC.

Posted in: Sports, Spring sports |

Tags: Tags: Lakota East, Lakota East softball, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West softball, Lakota West sports, Taylor Fair, Taylor Fair Lakota East

Both the Lakota East baseball and softball teams hosted and defeated squads from Oak Hills on Monday, April 18. The baseball team won its game by the score of 7-6, while the softball team defeated Oak Hills by the score of 3-1.

Lakota East sophomore Jarret Rindfleish doubled, tripled and drove in two runs in the win. His teammate senior Craig Tomson also drove in two runs.

With the win, Lakota East remains in first place in the Greater Miami Conference. The Thunderhawks are now 8-3 overall and 7-2 in the GMC. East is a game ahead of Mason (8-3 overall, 6-3 in GMC) and Sycamore in the conference standings.

Next up on the schedule, Lakota East will face Oak Hills on the road this Wednesday, April 20, at 5 p.m.

In softball, Lakota East senior Sara Pearson had another dominating performance striking out 16 and improving her record to 11-1 on the season. At the plate, freshman Taylor Fair (2-for-3, 2B, 3 RBIs) and junior Ainsley Ellison (2-for-3, 2 RBIs) led the Thunderhawks.

The win keeps the Thunderhawks tied with Fairfield atop the GMC standings. In its next game, Lakota East (14-1 overall, 9-1 in GMC) will face its rival Lakota West on the road at noon this Wednesday, April 20.

Baseball – Sycamore 11, Lakota West 1 – Sycamore run-ruled Lakota West in five innings in what ended as an 11-1 win for the Aves on Monday. Sycamore pitcher Kyle Hart improved his record to 3-1. Hart also struck out 10 batters. With the win, Sycamore improves its overall record to 6-3 and its GMC record to 6-3. Lakota West falls to 9-5 overall and to 6-4 in the GMC. The Firebirds will get another chance to defeat Sycamore when it hosts the same opponent this Wednesday, April 20, at 5 p.m.

Softball – Fairfield 5, Lakota West 0 – Fairfield rebounded from its loss to Lakota East on Thursday with a 5-0 win against Lakota West on Monday. Fairfield pitcher Erica D’Arcy improved to 9-1 this season. In 10 games, D’Arcy has 46 strikeouts in 67 innings and a 0.63 ERA. Lakota West senior pitcher Alex Caudill falls to 5-3 on the year. With the win, Fairfield remains tied for first place in the GMC with Lakota East. Both first-place teams are 9-1 in the GMC. With the loss, Lakota West’s record falls to 8-3 overall and 7-2 in the GMC. The Firebirds will play at Colerain (4-4 overall, 4-4 in the GMC) this Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

Posted in: Sports, Spring sports |

Tags: Tags: Ainsley Ellison, Alex Caudill, baseball, Craig Tomson, Erica D’Arcy, Jarret Rindfleisch, Kyle Hart, Lakota East, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Sara Pearson, softball, Taylor Fair