It has been an up-and-down start for the Lebanon High School softball team to start the 2021 campaign, but the Lady ‘Jackets had faced some tough competition and are adjusting to a new head coach after Rob Selander was hired when Stan Crum announced his retirement in May.
Lebanon (3-3 overall, 1-0 Ozark Conference) began their season at the Morrisville tournament last weekend. They defeated Summit Christian in the first round by a score of 15-2 before falling to the host team in the second round in a close game, 6-5.
LHS struggled against Republic the next day and lost 15-3 before bouncing back with a solid 6-2 win over Leeton.
“The Morrisville tournament allowed our team to see what we have,” Selander said .”While we hit the ball well as a team, there were a few opportunities to advance the runner with bunts that we did not execute. Struggles on defense also showed that we have a lot to clean up heading into the heart of the season.
“I would say the bottom line is that we didn’t play our game.”
Junior Raegan McCowan was named to the all-tournament team with three home runs on the weekend.
On Tuesday, the team traveled to Springfield to begin Ozark Conference play against the Parkview Vikings. It didn’t take long for the bats to get going, as Lebanon plated six runs in the first inning en route to a dominating 18-1 win in four innings.
McCowan doubled home a run on a 3-0 count to get the scoring started as sophomore McKinley Rodden brought home two runs on a single to extend the lead to 4-0. Cailyn Willbanks also delivered a big hit, plating two more runs.
For the complete story, see the Weekend edition of the LCR.
