Lady Tribe softball off to solid start, will also play in spring

So far, so good for the Kennett Lady Indians softball team in its first year of playing in the fall.

After several people said over the summer that the Lady Tribe could not compete against tougher competition in the fall, Kennett is 1-1 after two solid performances.

After falling, 2-1, in a pitcher's duel against a veteran Scott City squad, the Lady Indians won a 12-9 slugfest at Naylor -- a strong Class 1 school -- scoring 10 runs in the seventh inning after trailing 3-2 after six.

Both of Kennett's pitchers are averaging at least a strikeout per inning and the offense has surprised some too. Allyson Luce leads the way at the plate with a .625 average and the team is hitting over .300 as a whole.

While the Lady Indians will still face tougher competition -- they go to Jackson today and travel to always-tough Cape Central Monday -- they've looked good so far in "fall ball."

And the fall won't be the only time the Lady Tribe plays, either. The Kennett Board of Education voted 6-0 Tuesday to keep the spring season the team has played since its inception. Kennett will likely remain in the Bootheel Conference, where it is the defending co-champion and should have a good shot to repeat this spring.

The vote should help alleviate one of the biggest criticisms of fall ball, where several athletes who traditionally play other sports in the fall were faced with the prospect of giving up softball. Now they won't have to.

In the meantime, play ball!