Christy Teets pitching for Jackson.

Mindy Myers waits for the pitch.

Dana Sander waits to tag out a baserunner at third as Jessica Sander backs up the play.

It has been a good year so far for coach Becky Riney and her Lady Indians softball team. The team is (9-5) this season. Last year's squad finished (9-13).

The team is undefeated so far in their conference with two conference games left to play.

"I think we have a real possibility to be a district contender this year," Riney said.

Riney said mostly she is focusing her attention to improving her team's mental toughness.

"We've got talent as good as there is in the entire state," Riney added.

Riney said she is stressing how important it is to make the routine plays because a couple of games have been lost due to mistakes on routine plays.

This year's team has six seniors returning and three of them are returning all-district players. This has made for the best team chemistry Riney has ever coached at Jackson.

Alisha Liley- senior, earns her fourth letter this year as she takes over most of the pitching duties for Jackson. She is (7-4) so far this year with a 1.22 ERA. She is one of three returning all-district seniors on the team and is batting .489 with 16 RBIs.

Mindy Myers- senior, has scored 17 runs this season and is hitting very well with a .469 average. She has 14 stolen bases so far this year.

Christina Woods- senior, returning all-district player hitting .372. She is a power hitter with two home runs and a triple so far this season. Woods leads the team in slugging percentage with a .558 percentage.

Her height has saved a lot of would be errant throws at first base.

Sarah Onderonk- senior, plays center and right field for coach Riney and has been a real pleasant surprise so far this season hitting .333. She plays good defense and has quite a lot of speed, according to Riney.

Carmen Smith- senior, is a returning all-district player from last year. she plays left field for Jackson.

"She plays on instinct. She gets good jump on the ball," Riney said.

Smith is hitting .280, but Riney said that her average is misleading, because she has hit the ball hard all season, but right at people. But Smith has been able to find the holes in clutch situations so far this season for Jackson.

Jackie Langford- senior, plays right field and catcher. She has a .485 on-base percentage.

"She's a real hustler. She works hard to get everything out of her potential," Riney said.

Jackson has six juniors and four sophomores on the team that are contributing a lot for Riney.

Dana Aikens- junior, makes a lot of big plays for Jackson at second base. She's hitting .341.

"She leads the team in diving catches, she's that kind of player. She'll do what's necessary for the team," Riney said.

Dana Sander- junior, plays third base and designated hitter. She batting .353 and hitting the ball extremely hard this season. She's a utility player, but Riney said she needs her at the hot corner instead of her more natural position at second or shortstop.

Staci Seabaugh- junior, plays third base for Jackson. She's got a good glove, but is currently struggling at the plate, but Riney said she's too good of a hitter not to come out of her slump.

Jessica Sander- sophomore, plays shortstop for Jackson. She gets the job done for Riney and she's hitting .300.

"She's my 'Steady Eddie' player," Riney added.

Christy Teets- junior, is currently out because of a back injury, but she has a (2-1) record in limited starts at pitcher this season.

When she's healthy she throws strikes and keeps hitters off balance, Riney added.

Caroline Harper- junior, plays outfield. She's got a good bat and will see a lot of outfield action next season. This year she is a specialty player for Jackson.

Nicki Hobeck- junior, a utility player, she fills in wherever she is needed for Jackson.

Melissa Palmer- sophomore, plays first and third base for Jackson.

"Her bat is starting to come around," Riney said.

Carrie Myers- sophomore, is expected to be helping the team win before the district tournament begins.

Jessica Shultz- sophomore, lettered as a freshman. She's a hitting specialist and does some designated hitting for coach Riney.

Jackson Lady Indians 1996 Softball Season

3 Cape Central at Jackson 9

Cor Jesu Tournament

2 Lutheran South v. Jackson 0

2 Rosati-Kain v. Jackson 16

1 Notre Dame v. Jackson 7

9 Cor Jesu v. Jackson 2

1 Kelly at Jackson 2

Sullivan Tournament

4 Linn v. Jackson 9

7 Owensville v. Jackson 2

4 Sullivan v. Jackson 5

1 Poplar Bluff at Jackson 11

4 Jackson at Notre Dame St. Louis 5

2 Jackson at Hillsboro 3

5 Jackson at Poplar Bluff 0

0 Perryville at Jackson 1

Both games scheduled for last week on the road against Fox and at home against Herculaneum were rained out.

Jackson will play this week against Cape Central on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. away and on the road again on Thursday against Kelly at 4 p.m.

Jackson has outscored its opponents 75-42 so far this season with a 4-0 record at home and a 5-5 record on the road. Jackson is 4-0 in conference play and 5-5 in non-conference play.