Five O-M girls on all-conference teams

Five players represent Orient-Macksburg on the Bluegrass Conference’s all-conference softball teams at season’s end, showing the strong season the Bulldogs finished with.

With a 15-17 record, the Bulldogs had one of their best seasons, in terms of wins and losses, in over a decade. Head coach Mike Cooley said he’s very proud of how his team came together and performed.

On the first team from Orient-Macksburg are junior catcher Kasyn Shinn, freshman infielder and pitcher Emma Boswell and senior outfielder and pitcher Christa Cass.

Junior infielder and pitcher Kinsey Eslinger made the second team.

On honorable mention is junior infielder Emily Campbell.

First Team

Shinn batted .284 on the season, including seven doubles and three homers. Behind the plate, she had 14 assists.

“Other than Riley Duncan, who plays for Twin Cedars, I felt Kasyn was the best catcher in the league, especially defensively,” Cooley said. “Her ability to snap throws down to first and third base, and even second base without getting out of the crouch position, shows how strong she is. Her accuracy has become really, really good, and she’s got some girls at the bases she trusts.”

Cass hit .385, with 28 RBI, seven doubles, two triples and a homer. She was 18-of-18 stealing bases. In the pitcher’s circle she went 2-5 with 44 strikeouts.

“Christa’s been a staple for us in the outfield all along. She’s got tremendous speed and range in the outfield,” Cooley said. “As she developed throughout the years with her hitting and her speed, she’s very deserving and is one of the best outfielders in the league. That’s a big tribute to her.”

Boswell hit .585, drove in a team-high 49 runs, hit 14 doubles, five triples and six homeruns. She scored a team-leading 43 runs. She was 5-8 in the pitcher’s circle, with the second-best record on the team, but had a team-low 3.24 ERA.

“Emma’s multi-talented,” Cooley said. “We’ve talked before about what a great bat she brings to the lineup, and I always bat her third with the idea that she gets a few more at-bats. At least three people are going to get up in that first inning and that always gives us an opportunity to get a run. That’s kind of my philopshy. I think a lot of people have wondered why she doesn’t bat cleanup, but that’s why.”

Others on the first team with the Bulldog trio are French, Kisha Reed and Cristen Durian of Twin Cedars; Presley VanWinkel, Kiersten Klein, Jayda Chew and Teryn Shields from Murray; Taylor Ruby, Olivia Power and Leah Rinchiuso of Seymour; Paetyn Anderson of Melcher-Dallas and Taylor Hensen of Lamoni.

Second Team

Eslinger was another player among a list of a handful for Orient-Macksburg that could do many things well for her team. She was a solid hitter, fielder and pitcher for the program, named to the second team all-conference list.

Eslinger hit .319, with six singles and a home run, driving in 22 runs. She was 15-of-15 stealing bases.

“Kinsey had our best pitching record this year at 7-4. Kinsey’s as good of a ball player as any of our other kids, but we batted her in that fourth spot because she’s consistent. If the other team was going to pitch around Emma, I am confident Kinsey can get a hit. Emma and Kinsey hit back-to-back homeruns in one game, in fact,” Cooley said. “Kinsey consistently has 23 to 25 homeruns and 25 or 26 RBI every year. She’s got a great glove. It’s good to have two people to pitch or play short, and you can move them back and forth.”

Joining Eslinger on the second team are Gracie Peck, Morgan Robertson and Mackenzie Robertson of Seymour; Ella Hysell, Annika Shanks and Miah Roberts of Mormon Trail; Rachel Ogden and Lexis Smith of Moulton-Udell; Kassy Saucedo of Murray; Alysson Martin and Emaleigh Pierschbacher of Lamoni and Alexa Bedford of Moravia.

Honorable Mention

While Campbell was the Bulldogs’ honorable mention, Cooley also added third baseman Carter Osborne to that list to the media.

Campbell hit .316, hitting 10 doubles and driving in 14 runs. She had a .922 fielding percentage.

Osborne hit .325, with 20 RBI and seven doubles. She was 6-of-5 stealing bases, and was solid on defense at third base.

“Emily had a tremendous year. She really improved from her sophomore year. She batted over .300 and was solid at first base. She’s always wanted to play first base. Coach [Katey] Havens worked with her a lot early in the year and she did a tremendous job,” Cooley said. “Carter played third base, batted over .300, did a nice job, and she’s versatile too. When we had two games, she and Kasyn traded places and she went behind the plate. They both understand those two positions and did a nice job for us.”

A lot comes back

While the Bulldogs give credit for a lot of their success this year to the places the seniors (Christa Cass, Brandy Bracy and Logann Carson) had on the team, a lot of their team returns next season, which makes Cooley excited for what’s in store for the future.

“These all-conference things don’t happen without the rest of the teammates. You don’t have great things happen unless your other teammates who maybe don’t get the accolades step up and do their job too. Looking back on it, I hope the rest of the team feels good about these girls making all-conference, because that’s really a tribute to the whole team,” Cooley said. “We’re going to miss our seniors but we’ve got a lot coming back and a lot to look forward to with the talent we bring back.”