Four Charlestown Lady Pirate Softball standouts participated in Indiana Elite’s 5th Annual Girls Softball Challenge this past weekend at Decatur Central High School.  Soon to be Seniors Carly Price and Leah Sherrill played in the Class 3A Junior Game and soon to be Juniors Mackenzie Smith and Kendall Cline played in the underclassmen game.  Price pitched five innings, giving up four hits and the North’s sole run; while recording the win from the circle for the South Juniors, and was named the South MVP of the game.  Sherrill finished 1 for 2 at the plate, with a double and an RBI that scored the winning run for the South.  The South Juniors beat the North Juniors 3-1.  Mackenzie Smith finished 1 for 2 at the plate for the South team in the underclassmen game; while catching all five innings in a solid 12-2 win for the South.  Cline booked 2 for 4 at the plate and pitched two scoreless innings for the win.  For more information about Indiana Elite, go to www.INelite.com.

An additional Pirate Nation shout out for Lady Pirate Softball comes, as the Mid-Southern Conference recently announced their 2015 honors.  All Mid-Southern Conference Honors goes to Lady Pirates Carly Price, Leah Sherrill, and Mackenzie Smith; while MSC Honorable Mention honors goes to Kaitlynn Henning and Lexi Logsdon.  Lady Pirate Softball finished the season with 22 wins and 5 losses, Mid-Southern Conference Champions, Edgewood Invitational Champions, and Providence Invitational Champions.  The Lady Pirate Junior Varsity finished 5–4 and 3-2 in conference play.

Lady Pirate for Life and former Charlestown Softball standout Alli Webster, who just completed her second year at Wabash Valley Junior College, is now headed to NCAA Division II Softball powerhouse Carson-Newman University.  Carson-Newman has an enrollment of approximately 2000 and is located in Jefferson City, Tennessee; thirty minutes northeast of Knoxville.  The Softball program, over the past six years, has consistently averaged over thirty wins per season as well as a regular in the NCAA Southeast Regional.  While at Wabash Valley, Webster led her team to the NJCAA National Championship Tournament (7th out of 16 teams) in Utah, was named the 2015 Region 24 College Player of the year with a final season pitching record of 24-4, and recently named NJCAA 2015 D1 Softball All-American.  When Webster was asked what attracted her to Carson-Newman to continue her academic as well as softball athletic career she responed:  “Carson Newman was a very easy pick for me.  I am studying education and they have one of the best education programs in the country.  They are also a NCAA division 2 powerhouse in softball with a head coach that has won over 1000 games. She is needing a starting pitcher and I plan on filling that spot for her.  The campus is small and beautiful. The people were all so nice. I felt right at home there.”  Webster, who originally had committed to Purdue-Calumet; reconsidered after her softball performance this past season provoked additional offers to roll in.  Webster, who is  officially with Carson-Newman this past Wednesday with her parents.  Webster is a 2013 graduate of Charlestown High School, an Indiana All-Star, and the daughter of Jeff and Cindy Webster.  For more information about Carson-Newman Athletics, and to continue following Webster’s Softball progress, visit www.CNeagles.com.

The Lady Pirates have nothing to regret, finishing Mid-Southern Conference Champs, one game out of another chance to defend their Sectional title; but it just wasn’t meant to be this season.  Charlestown Lady Pirate Softball finished the season with a 22-5 record and won 18 of their last 19 games; proving to me the hottest team entering Sectional play.  Top it all off, long time Head Coach Kevin Zollman announced his end of season retirement in mid-May, compiling a career record of 180-146.  Charlestown defeated North Harrison in their sectional opener 3-0, but it was the second match up of the season with Salem that didn’t go as it did during the regular season, a 4-3 win.  The Lady Pirates fell to Salem in the Sectional Semi-Final Tuesday evening in Salem; provoking lots of tears in the finale.  Pirate nation would be hard pressed to find a former player of Coach Zollman who didn’t share a special softball relationship while at Charlestown; this team was no different.  Junior Carly Price, Tuesday’s starting pitcher, ended her season 18-3 from the circle and was recognized as Player of the Game once again for her pure skills at the pitching position.  Charlestown didn’t manage to score a run and stranded eleven base-runners throughout; but through their departure from the field, held to their class act reputation, despite battling many injuries.   Sophomore Kendall Cline finished the game three for three from the plate while Price added a three singles during her four at bats.  Sophomore Taylor Glover added two singles during three trips to the plate.  Charlestown will miss its softball Seniors (Shelby Goedeker, Kaitlynn Henning & Alex Hutchinson) as well as Coach Zollman; that’s alot of what made the loss especially difficult to swallow.  Salem will go on to face Brownstown in Thursday’s Sectional Final; but rest assured, the Lady Pirates; while returning eight starters next season, will be back in the hunt again next season.  Pirate Nation is very proud of you Lady Pirates; especially you three Seniors and Coach Zollman….words can’t express what you have meant to Lady Pirate Softball.

The Lady Pirate Softball team advanced to Tuesday night’s Class 3A Sectional #30 Semi-Final round by defeating North Harrison 3-0 Monday evening.  Junior Lady Pirate pitcher Carly Price didn’t record a single strike out, but kept the North Harrison batters guessing all night.  The Lady Kats ruled the Mid-Southern Conference statistics with 205 runs this season; but was shut out in Monday’s Sectional match-up with Charlestown.  The Lady Kats managed four hits off Price (15-2), however the Charlestown defense held and stranded them all on base.  After a scoreless first 2 1/2 innings, the Lady Pirates (home team) got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third when Price reached on an error then scored on a RBI single by Junior Lexi Logsdon.  Pitchers continued to battle and defense matched until the bottom of the sixth; when the Lady Pirates added two runs to insure the win.  Junior Bethany Hall reached after being hit by pitch, Sophomore Kendall Cline singled, then Junior Sarah Willinger reached on a fielder’s choice to set up the hit of the game.  Junior Brooke Adams, with two outs, hit to the left field wall for a two RBI double that scored courtesy runner Taylor Glover and pinch runner Shirlee Hayes.  Afterwards, Adams was named the Coyle Chevy, GMC, Buick and Coyle Nissan Player of the Game by CPPSB.  The Lady Pirates’ win advances them to the second of two Semi-Final games against the host Salem Lady Lions, who beat Scottsburg 1-0 in the night cap.  The Lady Pirates and Lady Lions are scheduled for their first pitch Tuesday evening at 7:30 pm.  Brownstown defeated Silver Creek (8-1) and Corydon defeated Madison (2-0) to match up in the first semi-final game at Salem.  Complete Lady Pirate Softball coverage will be live on www.CPPSB.com.

“A picture is worth a thousand words”, as the ole saying goes; and so did the Lady Pirate Softball Senior Night.  If you weren’t there, whether a fan of the sport or not, if your a Pirate at HEART….you missed a milestone memory.  Even PPSB’s audio broadcast couldn’t do it justice….you just had to have been there.  The 2015 Lady Pirate Softball team is one close group; the evidence is their ‘family’ photo after thumping visiting Brown County Friday evening, 16-1 to finish a 21-4 regular season.  Don’t miss Coach with cake on his face in the photo.  The Lady Pirates celebrated their three Seniors, Shelby Goedeker, Kaitlynn Henning, & Alex Hutchinson; they honored their retiring Head Coach, and then they celebrated his birthday.  There was family everywhere and Pirate love was in the air all night.  The Lady Pirate Softball family has done alot of winning, especially over the last four years; evidence is the three Seniors’ record playing softball at Charlestown High School, 81 wins and only 25 loses in four years (70%).  The Lady Pirates, with his family, celebrated the coaching career and dedication of retiring Lady Pirate Softball Skipper, Kevin Zollman (179-145).  It was emotional to say the least, but it was the kind of “emotional” that made you proud to be a Pirate.  Then they whooped up on the Lady Eagles, the game just landed on the wrong night for the visitors this season.

After a scoreless first, Charlestown scored three in the second when Junior Bethany Hall led off with a double to left field, Freshman Erin Kimbrell, Junior Brooke Adams, Sophomore Mackenzie Smith, and Junior Leah Sherrill then added singles.  Charlestown added another run in the third when Senior Alex Hutchinson plated Hall on a single to left center.  Lady Pirates 4-0 over Brown County after three complete.  Then the emotions of the night kicked it as the Lady Pirates scored twelve in the bottom of the fourth, off ten hits, to put the game out of reach for the visiting Lady Eagles.

Junior Leah Sherrill was phenomenal from the plate again, finishing a perfect four for four with three singles and a triple in the fourth that scored three runs.  Sherrill finished the game with four RBIs.  Hall finished 3 of 4 from the plate with two singles, a double and two RBIs.  Kimbrell also added a 3 of 4 performance, all singles; and Junior Carly Price tacked on a double, a single and three RBI’s to her +500 average.

Coach Zollman and the Lady Pirates will now defend their two consecutive Sectional titles beginning Monday at Salem High School.  Charlestown will play North Harrison, as the home team, in the first round of tournament play (5:30 pm).  Pirate Pride Sports will broadcast the game live beginning at 5:00 pm on www.CPPSB.com.

Not the biggest offensive numbers on the season for Charlestown; however the Lady Pirate Softball team got done what needed to get done, securing their 16th consecutive win.  After a scoreless first, Southwestern (Hanover) scored a run in the second to take an early lead on their hosts.  Charlestown (20-4) answered in the bottom of the third when Junior Leah Sherrill reached first on balls to lead off the inning and set the stage for Junior Carly Price.  Price, currently batting a hot .506 average, hit a shot to left center on a 1-0 pitch, plating Sherrill for a RBI triple.  Price scored three pitches later to give the Lady Pirates a 2-1 lead.  The Lady Rebels added their last run in the top of third to tie the game at two.  Price hit another triple in the fifth and then got plated by Junior Lexi Logsdon to take the lead.  The Lady Pirates added another run in the bottom of the sixth when Junior Sarah Willinger also tripled to left field, then scored two batters later.  Final score 4 -2, Charlestown.  Price (14-2) got the win from the circle, with eight strikeouts and one walk.  Southwestern finished the game with six hits, but were held to two runs by the Charlestown defense.  Price lead the Lady Pirates at the plate, finishing two for two, both triples and a RBI; while Willinger also finished two for two with a triple and a run scored.  The Lady Pirates are leading Class 3A statistics for triples with 23 total on the season thus far; seven of those by Price who is second in the state.  Sophomore Mackenzie Smith is tied for fourth in 3A with five triples.

The Lady Pirates will host Brown County Friday evening for the regular season finale, with a first pitch scheduled for 6pm; however the night will definitely be an emotional one for Pirate Softball fans.  Charlestown High School will honor its three Softball Seniors (Shelby Goedeker, Alex Hutchinson, and Kaitlynn Henning), and recognize retiring Head Coach Kevin Zollman.  Zollman (178-145 in fourteen season) has led the program since 2002, leading our ladies to two conference titles and back-to-back Sectional Championships in 2013 and 2014.  Pirate Nation, make sure your arrive to Friday’s game by 5:45 pm to witness and honor our Softball Seniors and beloved Coach Zollman.