Lady Blue Knights Softball » 2008

Lady Knights prepare for fall season under new head coach

September 5, 2008 at 7:43 am | In General

Lady Knights prepare for fall season under new head coach

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By Justin Hatten
Olney Daily Mail
Mon Aug 25, 2008, 01:34 PM CDT

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Olney, Ill. -
The OCC Lady Blue Knights will be tested right off the bat when they open their fall softball scrimmage season September 4 against national powerhouse Wabash Valley.

The Lady Warriors finished 48-5 last spring and advanced to the NJCAA National Tournament in Plant City, Fla.

They return All-Great Rivers Athletic Conference (GRAC) and All-Region 24 standouts Kristen Broadway, Emerald Graham and LeAnn Collins this season.

OCC will play fellow GRAC foe Lincoln Trail September 18 and 25 before hosting Wabash Valley October 2. The Lady Knights close their fall campaign two days later at Danville.

“We’re gonna throw the girls into the fire and see what they can do,” first-year head coach Nick Short said. “We’re gonna go out and play hard and we’re not gonna back down from anybody. We wanna see how much we can improve from September to October and get our freshmen acclimated to the college game.”

Short has 21 players on the roster, including former Olney Lady Tigers Chelsey Sechrest (Soph.), Chelsie Cowman (Soph.) and Bianca Costantino (Fr.), West Richland High School graduate Cally Hubbell (Fr.), Carmi native Teddi Helsel (Fr.) and Robinson’s Jamie Lytle (Soph.).

“The girls are working hard and pushing each other in practice,” Short said. “I’ve been impressed with their efforts. We’re definitely gonna be more competitive than we were in the past. Depth is a strength for us.”

Despite the progress, the Lady Knights are dealing with some injuries. Sophomore outfielder Lindsey Wedding tore her ACL this offseason and won’t be available until the spring while Lytle is coming off ACL surgery but should be ready for fall ball.

“Lindsey is an outstanding player and we need her to be healthy in the spring,” Short said. “We’re working Jamie back into the fold.”

News and notes: A native of Hamilton, Short was an assistant coach for two seasons under former OCC skipper Rick Porter.

2008-09 OCC Lady Blue Knights softball roster

Amanda Hostettler (Soph./INF) – Wadesville, Ind. (North Posey)

Chelsey Sechrest (Soph./OF-C) – Olney (East Richland)

Katie Harmon (Soph./P) – Rockport, Ind. (South Spencer)

Chelsie Cowman (Soph./P) – Claremont (East Richland)

Jamie Lytle (Soph./INF) – Robinson (Robinson)

Selina Roman (Soph./INF) – Terre Haute, Ind. (Terre Haute North)

Kelly Fougerousse (Soph./INF-P) – Jasonville, Ind. (Terre Haute South)

Lindsey Wedding (Soph./OF) – Evansville, Ind. (Evansville North)

Emily Arnold (Soph./INF) – Indianapolis, Ind. (Ben Davis)

Bianca Costantino (Fr./UTI) – Olney (East Richland)

Cally Hubbell (Fr./C) – Noble (West Richland)

Morgan Clapp (Fr./OF) – Shelbyville, Ind. (Shelbyville)

Traci Crouse (Fr./INF) – Shelbyville, Ind. (Shelbyville)

Jessica Jones (Fr./C) – Camby, Ind. (Ben Davis)

Traci Sanders (Fr./INF) – Brazil, Ind. (Northview)

Angie Camp (Fr./C-UTI) – Clay City, Ind. (Clay City)

Megan Cox (Fr./INF) – Farmersburg, Ind. (North Central)

Jordan Maurer (Fr/OF) – Fort Branch, Ind. (Gibson Southern)

Jessica Allen (Fr./UTI) – Patoka, Ind. (Princeton)

Teddi Helsel (Fr./P-INF) – Carmi (Carmi-White County)

Liz Hoffman (Fr./INF) – Indianapolis, Ind. (Ben Davis)

Head coach – Nick Short (first year)

Assistant coach – Valerie Weidner

2008 OCC fall softball schedule

September 4 – at Wabash Valley in Mt. Carmel

(2 p.m. – DH)

September 7 – at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in Terre Haute, Ind. (12:30 p.m. CST – DH)

September 13-14 – at Southern Indiana Tournament (TBA)

September 18 – at Lincoln Trail in Robinson

(2 p.m. – DH)

September 25 – vs. Lincoln Trail (2 p.m. – DH)

October 2 – vs. Wabash Valley (2 p.m. – DH)

October 4 – at Danville Area (1 p.m. – DH)

DH – doubleheader

CST – central standard time

Season opener postponed…

September 4, 2008 at 12:03 pm | In General

The season opener for the Lady Knights at Wabash Valley has been postponed from September 4th to Friday, September 5th due to rain. Game time for the first game of the doubleheader is 2:00PM.