Lady Vandals earn first conference win

Senior Alex Henna had a home run, double and six RBI to lead the Lady Vandals to a 13-3 win against Carlinville in the team’s South Central Conference opener last Friday.

Henna had one RBI in each of her first three at-bats – a single, error and double – and she lifted the fourth pitch of her final at-bat over the left-centerfield fence for a three-run homer that moved Vandalia ahead, 12-3.

“She had two the other night at T-Town that would have cleared our fence, too,” said coach Brian Buscher. “She’s more relaxed, and when she gets relaxed, she can hit.”

Sophomore Taylor Well followed Henna’s homer with a double, and she would score the game-ending run when

Carlinville misplayed a ball hit by junior Paige Ehrat, to secure Vandalia’s second win of the spring.
Senior Molli Tedrick and Henna had back-to-back doubles to open the fourth inning, and Well had an RBI single.

Those three were a combined 8-for-12 with four runs and nine RBI during the game.

“Up and down the lineup, we are hitting or putting the ball in play,” Buscher said, adding that after all his tinkering with the lineup throughout the season, he was pleased to see a game where all but one player reached base at least twice.

Vandalia (2-6, 1-0 SCC) trailed 1-0 after the top of the first, but Bruno walked and stole second to open the bottom of the frame.

The next two batters struck out, but Henna rifled a single to right to score Bruno and knot the game.

Tedrick settled in the pitcher’s circle in the second, needing just 10 pitches to retire three batters, and four of the first five Lady Vandals walked in the bottom of the inning to create a pair of runs.

A single from Tedrick and an error by Carlinville’s first baseman on a ball hit by Henna resulted in two more Vandalia runs to give the Lady Vandals a 5-1 lead.

Bruno would single in the third to score Ehrat, and the Lady Cavaliers got an RBI single in the fourth before Vandalia’s offense exploded in the final two innings.

“In conference, I don’t think there’s one team that will dominate another,” Buscher said. “Every conference game is winnable, but we could lose, too.

“It’ll be something we’ll have to work for.”

The number of conference wins likely will depend on whether or not the team keeps improving.

Buscher said the team had overall improved from an F at the beginning of the season to a B after the win. Offensively, he said the team would be graded at a low A.

The defense is where the team is being held back, but with only a couple of games this week, Buscher said he planned to spend a lot of time practicing working on defensive drills.

Box score
Friday, March 30
Vandalia 13
Carlinville 3
CHS: 1-0-0-1-1—3-4-3
VHS: 1-4-1-2-5—13-12-4
WP: Tedrick (2-2); 5 IP, 3 K, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB
LP: McFarland
Vandalia: Henna, 3-for-4, HR, 2B, 6 RBI, 2 runs; Tedrick, 3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 runs; Bruno, 1-for-2, 2 RBI, 3 runs, 3 SB; Well, 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, run; Emilie Britt, 1-for-3, run; Shelby Foster, 1-for-2, run; Kylie Sellers, 1-for-4, run; Ehrat, run, sac bunt; Morgan Whightsil, run.
Record: 2-6 (1-0 SCC)