April 8, 2008 – VANDALIA
For the second straight afternoon the Covington Lady Buccs took on one of the better larger schools in the area at Vandalia-Butler.

And similar to last night at Greenville, Covington played well but came up on the short end on the scoreboard, 3-2.

"We've played two of the better larger programs in the area and we were right there with them," said Covington coach Dean Denlinger. "Vandalia-Butler is one of the top teams in the GWOC and Greenville won state last year. Plus, we played Triad and they were runner-up last year."

The early schedule Covington has faced against teams the caliber of Triad, Greenville and Vandalia-Butler should pay dividends down the line.

"This schedule is what we want," Denlinger continued. "Playing teams like this will only make us better."

Kristin Boggs started the contest on the mound for Covington and pitched four innings, giving up only four hits. But it was five walks that benefitted the host Aviators as it translated into three runs - one each in the first, second and fourth.

"The pitching on both sides was solid," Denlinger said. "But in a tight game like this the five walks hurt. You take those walks away and they don't score any runs."

Jessica Shrout came in in relief for the final two innings and didn't allow a single hit.

But Lady Buccs had problems getting hits of their own as they only recorded two throughout the entire contest.

"Offensively we just aren't getting the job done," said Denlinger. "We're getting solid pitching and playing very well defensively, but our offense hasn't caught up with our defense. We left seven runners on base tonight."

One of Covington's two hits was a big one as Erin Christian drilled a two-run homer in the sixth inning after Katie Dickey walked.

"The fence over there is a good 210 to 220 feet and she cleared it by at least ten feet," described Denlinger. "There was no doubt it was going over when it left the bat. She really got a hold of that one."

Still, it wasn't enough to pull out a win as Butler shut the door by holding Covington scoreless in the seventh.

"This was a very clean game defensively by both teams," Denlinger stated.

The Lady Buccs drop to 1-3 overall, but Denlinger isn't dissatisfied with where his team stands at this point of the season.

"I'm happy with the effort the girls are giving and where we are defensively, but we're not satisfied to where we won't continue trying to improve," he said. "We have plenty of room to grow, but I like the fact that the girls are willing to do what it takes to get to where we want to be."

Where the Lady Buccs want to be is at the top of the Cross County Conference standings and on top of their game come tournament time.

Playing teams like Greenville and Vandalia-Butler will only help them get there.

Covington opens Cross County Conference play tomorrow at home against Mississinawa Valley.

Scoring by Innings:
Covington .........0...0...0...0...0...2...0 - 2 .. 2 .. 1
Butler .................1...1...0...1...0...0...x - 3 .. 4 .. 1