MP freshman Leslie Taylor joins All-Golden Triangle softball team

Wins came in handfuls for Golden Triangle News Service teams in 2011, and when it came tournament time, a few more dug a little deeper.

Mid-Prairie was just over .500 with a 20-18 record in the regular season, but second-year head coach Justin Lutjen never let his team stop believing they could beat anyone. After all, the Golden Hawks faced a gauntlet of ranked opponents during the regular season, 15 in all, defeating five top-10 teams.

Just as Lutjen?s Golden Hawks had done the summer before, they knocked off a pair of ranked opponents in the regional playoffs to earn a trip to the state tournament and Lutjen now lands as coach of the 2011 All-GTNS softball squad. Mid-Prairie won one game at state to finish as one of the top four teams in Class 2A.

Olivia Lugar handled pitching duties on that state-tournament run, and although she fell behind in both the regional semifinals and finals, she bore down and made the pitches she needed to when it counted. She finished the season with a 16-12 record and an ERA of 2.11 while striking out 117.

Highland junior Mariah Freel fills in the other All-GTNS pitching slot, and when she was on this season, she was nearly unhittable. Freel went 19-3 on the season with a 2.71 ERA. She struck out 126 batters while walking just 43, and opposing batters hit just .202 against her.

In conference play, she was even better, posting a record of 10-1 with a 1.70 ERA. Although Freel didn?t start in the pitcher?s circle for a week and a half in the middle of the regular season due to tendonitis in her pitching arm, she came back strong and won five of her six final starts of the season.

But aside from those two hurlers, it was mostly the hitters who ruled the area. That?s where All-GTNS captain Felisha Durflinger comes in.

The big-swinging senior was tops in all of Class 2A ? fifth-best in the entire state ? as she belted 14 home runs on the year as part of the traditionally strong program at Cardinal. Durflinger ended the year as a .381 hitter with 39 RBI while also shouldering the load as the Comets? No. 1 pitcher.

In the pitcher?s circle, Durflinger struck out 89 and finished with a 3.28 ERA in 115 1/3 innings ? many of which came against tough, Class 4A opponents in weekend tournaments.

Also wielding a big stick this summer was Fairfield first-baseman Brittany Craff, who rewrote the Trojan school-record books. The senior blasted seven balls over the fence in 2011 ? a single-season Fairfield record ? and also set the new mark at 15 home runs for a career. Craff finished the year hitting .325 and easily led the team with 45 RBIs.

Leading off the rest of the All-GTNS infield selections is Washington second-baseman Maddie Bohr. The speedy leadoff hitter led the Demons in a total of eight offensive categories this season, including batting average (.467), on-base percentage (.590) and slugging percentage (.570). She not only could slap to get on base, but stand in the box and hit away, smacking seven doubles and two triples this season while also swiping 17 bags.

Speaking of speed, that conversation isn?t complete without Pekin?s Jessi Martin. The senior had the green light to run at will in the aggressive Panther offense and she did just that on her way to stealing 45 bases ? seventh best in the entire state. The shortstop also fielded her position well while hitting .429 at the plate and now makes the All-GTNS softball team after being named to both cross-country and basketball squads in the past.

Rounding out the infield is IMS? Gretchen Geyer. Her .520 batting average was the eighth-best in Class 1A this season, and once the speedy shortstop got on base, which she did nearly 57 percent of the time, she was likely to steal second base, which she did 33 times.

Behind the plate is All-GTNS catcher, Cardinal Lindsay Moore. As one of the best defensive catchers in the area ? and perhaps the entire state ? the sophomore now earns her second All-GTNS tab after making it as an eighth-grader in 2009. This year, Moore committed just two errors behind the plate while also picking up the pace on offense with a .446 average, five home runs, 44 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.

Leading the All-GTNS power-hitting outfield is Pekin?s senior slugger Dominique Tolle. The centerfielder muscled her way to 11 doubles, six home runs and easily a team-best 45 RBIs while finishing the year with a .394 average.

Taylor Vonnahme was a slugger on a Highland team that liked to slap and use its speed. Once her teammates slapped their way on base, Vonnahme used her bat to drive in 39 runs. She batted .376 this season and led the Huskies with seven doubles and two home runs.

As a freshman in her second year as a starter for Mt. Pleasant, Leslie Taylor played all 37 games and led the team in a number of categories. She finished the season hitting .367 with four triples, three home runs, 15 stolen bases and 34 runs scored ? all team highs.

Rounding out the 2011 All-GTNS softball team are two utility players who did whatever was needed to get wins for their teams. Washington first baseman Lauren Vittetoe came up with her biggest hit of the season came in the Demons? regional quarterfinal game at Williamsburg. With her team trailing 6-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning and the bases loaded with two outs, Vittetoe smacked the first pitch she saw off the left-field fence for a three-RBI double that gave Washington a thrilling 7-6 win. Her season totals were just as spectacular as the junior finished with a .368 average, one home run and 17 doubles.

After hitting .364 during the regular season, Mid-Prairie senior Rachel Miller closed her career out on a tear, batting .444 with four doubles, a triple, a home run and eight RBIs during the Golden Hawks? postseason run. Miller?s bases-loaded two-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning of the regional final tied the game, which the Golden Hawks went on to win 5-4 over top-ranked Durant. And her single in the bottom of the seventh inning of Mid-Prairie?s state quarterfinal game with Nodaway Valley brought home teammate Kaitlin Kaalberg to score the winning run.

Those were the kind of performances that came to be expected from the seniors, who filled seven of the 13 spots on this year?s All-GTNS squad. The six underclassmen will now be tasked with carrying the torch, and if history is any indication, expect another strong year from area teams in 2012.