Shawnee freshman proves you can play them two at a time

SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP - Shawnee freshman pitcher Lauren Dicke got pulled from Tuesday's junior varsity game against St. Marys on Tuesday.

But that was a good thing.  A very good thing.

Dicke was taken out of the JV game to pinch-hit in the varsity game against the Roughriders on the diamond located right behind the JV field.

The move by Shawnee coach Lou Seddelmeyer in the sixth inning paid off when Dicke blasted a grand-slam home run to turn a 4-3 Shawnee lead into an 8-3 advantage.

Shawnee (14-4, 6-2 Western Buckeye League) pounded a total of nine hits and scored 11 runs in the sixth, en route to a convincing 12-3 victory over St. Marys (10-5, 3-3).

St. Marys pitcher Erika Thornsberry pitched well through the first five innings, giving up just one run on three hits.

However, in the sixth, Shawnee jumped all over the freshman hurler, sending a total of 15 batters to the plate.

Dicke said when she was called to pinch-hit in the varsity game, it surprised her somewhat.

"I was really nervous," Dicke said. "I just didn't want to screw up, because I knew they were trying to come back."

Seddelmeyer said he tries to utilize Dicke as much as possible at the varsity level. However, he said he wants to keep her in the pitching circle as much as possible - whether it is varsity or junior varsity.

"She's going to be a heck of a player, by the time she is all done," Seddelmeyer said. "But we want to let her pitch as much as possible (junior varsity). We'll use her whenever we can."

Senior pitcher Chelsea Lingenfelter went the distance for the Indians, giving up the three runs on seven hits, while striking out seven. Lingenfelter was also 2-for-4 at the plate with a run-batted-in.

Jenny Marsh led Shawnee at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. Along with Lingenfelter, both Lauren Miller and Meagan Ream had two-hit performances for the Indians.

Junior shortstop Bailey Smith led St. Marys with two home runs and Alysia Nagel went 2-for-3.

 "We played pretty well until the sixth inning," St. Marys coach Sue Grothause said. "Shawnee has some good hitters and once they started to hit us, it started to snowball."

St. Marys is without the services of their ace pitcher Kayla Thornsberry, who went down with a knee injury against Bath on April 16. Her sister, Erika, has been called upon to carry the pitching load for the Roughriders.

"She's going to be a very good pitcher," Grothause said of the younger Thornsberry. "I think she got a little frustrated. She just has to learn to be able to work through it...she'll be OK."

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