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Jackrabbits
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| 2007 OFF TO A GREAT START May 7, 2007 The Jackrabbits are doing their thing in '07. The season has started with 4 games resulting in 4 wins for the team. On April 24, the Rabbits swept a doubleheader against Richlands Presbyterian with both teams having to play shorthanded. The team played solid defense in both games. On the following Monday, April 30th, the Jackrabbits again found themselves shorthanded. Playing with only 3 outfielders, the Jax downed Temple of Hope in dramatic fashion in the first game. A tight-fought contest, the game went 9 innings. Tied at 3-3, the home team Jackrabbits had Sheena Nowlin on 1st base and Brad Kinder on 3rd base with one out. Todd O'Quinn came up needing only a sacrifice fly to win the game. "I was just trying to hit a deep fly ball," said O'Quinn. His attempt to hit that sac fly was unsuccessful. The ball went over the fence for a walk-off 3-run homerun which sent the team charged for the nightcap of the doubleheader with a 6-3 win in the first game. After getting out to a 17-4 lead, the Rabbits never looked back enroute to a 21-13 win in game two.
2007 SEASON JUST DAYS AWAY The Jackrabbits are ready to take the field for another exciting season in the Richlands Church Softball League with a roster makeover to start the season. Gone from last season are outfielders Doug Jessee and Josh Hart as well as infielders Donnie Stacy, Evan Rasnake and Bo Harris. But the good news for the Jackrabbits is the addition of very talented players to fill those holes in the roster. Newcomers to the team include former player Jono Pruitt. Jono returns to the Jackrabbits infield to play first base and third base this season after a year's absence while living in Roanoke, VA. He provides another potent lefty bat to the lineup. Todd O'Quinn comes to the Jacks from Tazewell First Assembly. He's a solid outfielder with a good arm and deadly bat. His former Emats teammate, Stevie Pruitt, will man the shortstop position. Stevie is highly regarded as one of the finest softball talents in Southwest Virginia and can play any position fluently. Add to the mix Tony Cordle. Tony is another outstanding addition to the team, as he plays aggressively in the outfield showing off great range. He can hit the ball as far as anyone. Scott Ball comes to the team as a last-minute add. Scott is a solid outfielder with several years experience in the field. Returning are outfielders Brad Kinder and Brian Sweeney, infielders Whitney Newberry, Sheena Nowlin, Crystal McGlothlin, Chuck Eaton and pitcher Marcus Boyd. Kinder, the team MVP of the 2007 season, has been named as an assistant manager by the team's management this season. "I'm so excited about this season," said manager Marcus Boyd. "We do have a lot of talent, but most importantly I feel like we've got a bunch of people who can get out there and have some fun together. At times last season we lost focus of that, which does happen to teams from time to time; but this year I think we've regained that feel for the fun of the game. That's what it's all about anyway. Sure, we should win our fair share of games, but we all know we've got to have fun doing it." Regarding the promotion of Kinder to assistant manager, Boyd said, "Brad's been around the game a day or two, and he has become one of the smartest players in our league. It just makes sense to utilize his experience and maturity to help mold the purpose of this team. I've got a very deep respect for him and Chuck (Eaton) and trust them to help run this team." The Jackrabbits open the regular season on Tuesday, April 24th, with a doubleheader against Richlands Presbyterian Church, the team that eliminated the Rabbits from the tournament last season with a 27-10 win on July 7th.
2006 POST SEASON AWARDS ANNOUNCED The Jackrabbits players have voted, and the 2006 post season awards have been announced. By an overwhelming vote, Brad Kinder was named the team MVP for the 2006 season. Kinder provided veteran leadership along with all-around solid talent to help the Jackrabbits to their best season to date. In the field he was a staple of one of the league's best defenses. Offensively, he led the team with a very nice .777 batting average. He also led in hits, doubles, runs, on base percentage and slugging average and tied for the team lead with 66 RBI. Those numbers also earned him a second award: Offensive Player of the Year. It was an outstanding season for Kinder. Spoof Jessee came away with two awards of his own. His infectious personality helped loosen up the Jackrabbits on many occasions this year, and his peers saw him as the newcomer who made the most difference. He posted a very solid .634 on base percentage and scored 44 runs. Toward the end of the season, his hitting was deadly. His defense was considered second to none, however. Jessee was voted Jackrabbits Defensive Player of the Year as well by his teammates. He has long been considered one of the top outfielders in the league, and he's very deserving of this award. The player who was most improved from 2005 to 2006 was absolutely no surprise. Brian Sweeney went from being a part-time player to one of the league's rising stars during the past year. His teammates unanimously voted him Most Improved Player for 2006. During this season, he made many stellar plays in left field. He showed flashes of power with his much improved hitting. In fact, on May 8, 2006, he hit his first career homerun in a very tight 18-17 win over Missionary. Congratulations to all the award winners!
RABBITS WIN ONE THEN
GET ELIMINATED On Thursday the Jackrabbits advanced by defeating Lebanon, only to be eliminated by RPC on Friday. The Rabbits hit very well against Lebanon, scoring 30 runs in a 6-inning game to win 30-16. The top three batters in the order, Evan Rasnake, Doug Jessee and Brad Kinder, were on base 17 of 18 times and scored 17 runs in the game. Kinder had 7 RBI, and Chuck Eaton was 5-for-5 with a sac fly and 4 RBI. The Friday game against Richlands Presbyterian was a different story, however. The offense was anemic as Marcus Boyd went 0-for-3 with a walk to continue his tournament slump. He has popped out to an infielder twice a game in each of the last three games. The Dugout Disciples of RPC hit the ball very well tonight enroute to a 27-10 win over the Jackrabbits. This was the second loss in the double elimination tournament for the Jax. Rasnake scored 3 runs, while Kinder and Jessee each drove in 3. This wraps up the most successful season in Jackrabbits' history. Boyd said of the season, "I'm proud of my team. They're a fun-loving bunch and play hard. We built on a lot of positive things this season, and I'm looking forward to even more progress next year." The Rabbits finished 16-9 on the season.
JACKRABBITS LOSE
SECOND ROUND GAME The Jackrabbits, who had earned a bye in the first round of the tournament with their fourth place regular season finish, faced a surprisingly solid Missionary team who had recently had trouble fielding a full team of their own players. Tonight, however, the Missionary Crew came ready to play ball. Missionary took the lead early with an 8-run bottom of the first inning. Jeff Ray and Herman Matthews combined to send several balls over the fence. They put up 10 runs in the 5th inning as well enroute to a convincing 25-19 win over the Rabbits. Donnie Stacy was the offensive star of the game for the Jax. He was 4 for 5 with two doubles, a triple and an inside the park grand slam. He finished the night with 7 runs batted in. Sheena Nowlin was 4 for 4 with 4 runs scored on the night. The loss sends the Jackrabbits to the losers bracket much earlier than hoped. They will face Lebanon, who forfeited to Baptist Valley 1 tonight, on Thursday, July 6 at 6:15 PM.
JACKRABBITS FINISH
FOURTH The Jackrabbits had a chance for second place, but they'd need a sweep tonight against a very solid Tazewell team. They didn't get the sweep they had hoped for, however. In fact, the Jax ended up getting swept by Tazewell to end the regular season with a 4th place finish in the RCSL. Tazewell took the lead early in both games and never looked back. The final was 16-8 on the small field and 21-15 on the large field. In the first game, Whitney Newberry hit her 3rd homer of the season, and Sheena Nowlin joined the Hammer Jackrabbit club with a blast of her own in the 6th inning. Donnie Stacy hit his first jack of the year, and Marcus Boyd hit his team-leading 9th in the second game. Spoof Jessee scored 4 runs, and Boyd drove in 6 in that game. The fourth place finish, while not what the Jackrabbits were seeking tonight, gives the team a bye in the first round of the post season tournament, which starts Monday night at the Richlands Rec Park. A tournament schedule will be posted on the Jackrabbits Softball message board by the end of the weekend. The final record for the regular season is 15 wins and 7 losses for the best regular season record ever by the team.
June 15, 2006 It finally appears the Jackrabbits are living up to the hype that came with the 2006 season. They swept a doubleheader against First Assembly, an outstanding fielding and hitting team, tonight. Donnie Stacy made his season debut tonight and played shortstop in the first game, as the Jackrabbits were without Evan Rasnake. Lee Proffitt is still out with a lower back injury sustained against Oakwood. Behind solid defense and timely hitting, the Rabbits jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. They were led in hitting by Whitney Newberry who homered and drove in 4 runs in the game. Brad Kinder and Marcus Boyd each scored 2 runs and drove in a pair. Chuck Eaton and Brian Sweeney scored two runs apiece. The final score was 9-2, with the Jackrabbits on the winning end. The second game started off well for the Jackrabbits. The Jax were up 17-6 by the middle of the third inning, but First Assembly scored 10 runs in the bottom of the third to pull it to within one run. After a lull for a couple of innings, the Jackrabbits' offense piled up 7 runs in the top of the seventh inning to regain the lead. A ground out and two fly ball outs later, the Rabbits had won 25-20 in a hard-fought game against one of their most respected rivals. Marcus Boyd led the way with a 4-for-5 performance that included two home runs and 7 RBI's. Donnie Stacy and Brad Kinder were 5-for-5 at the plate. Chuck Eaton, Brian Sweeney, Sheena Nowlin and Evan Rasnake each had at least 3 base hits. Kinder and Rasnake scored 4 runs each. Sweeney drove in 4. Now 13 and 5, the Jackrabbits will take on Lebanon Tuesday night at the Richlands Rec Park.
June 13, 2006 The bats remain hot for the Jackrabbits as they piled up two more wins for the season tonight against Souls Harbor. Brad Kinder delivered a huge grand slam in the opener, which the Jackrabbits won 9-6. Sheena Nowlin scored two and drove in another run as well. In the second game, the Rabbits looked off their game the first two innings, as they trailed going into the third inning. They put up 10 runs that inning behind very nice hitting. They scored 10 again in the 5th inning, which is the single inning run limit. At the end of the night, they had coasted to a 30-13 victory over Souls Harbor. Evan Rasnake led the team with 4 runs scored. Doug "Spoof" Jessee, Josh Hart and Rasnake each drove in 4 runs. Sheena Nowlin and Jessee both went 5-for-5 on the night. Next up is mighty First Assembly on Thursday, June 15 at 7:30 and 8:45. The Jax are now 11-5 this season. Home * About Us * News * Roster * Photos * Stats * Schedule * Message Board Copyright ©
2005-2006 Jackrabbits Softball / all rights reserved |
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