APRIL 27, 2010 - COVINGTON
For the third time this season Covington's Halley Roberts was within a whisker of hurling a perfect game, only to come up short in the final inning.

Roberts, with a little help from her friends in the field, mowed down the first 13 batters before giving up a walk with two outs in the top of the fifth in a 12-1 run-rule victory over Mississinawa Valley. The walked batter eventually scored the lone run for the visiting Black Hawks on a passed ball, but the effort by Roberts and the Covington defense was special.

"The girls came in here with the right attitudes and it showed," said Covington coach Dean Denlinger. "We jumped on them early and let our pitching and defense take over."

Roberts struck out 7 of the 17 batters she faced and didn't give up a single hit in the contest, although Mississinawa Valley managed to make solid contact several times.

Twice potential base hits were take away by the Covington defense as right fielder Shelby Hoblit chased down a line drive to right field and threw the runner out at first. Then, in the top of the fifth, Aubrye Cain made a sliding catch in center field to steal a potential base hit from the Black Hawks.

In all, the Lady Buccs played error-free on the evening, while Mississinawa Valley helped Covington with its three errors.

Covington scored a run in the first inning and then broke the game open with a six-run second inning and a five-run third inning for a 12-0 lead.

And Denlinger used all 16 kids in uniform to do the damage.

"All 16 kids contributed tonight and it's been that way all season," he said. "The girls know their roles and do what they're expected."

Eight Covington players contributed to the 10 hits for the team, but it was Aubrye Cain and Sarah Westfall who came through in the clutch. Both went 2-2 and drove in three runs each.

Roberts helped herself out with a two-run single, while Chloe Shell, Hannah Pond and Shelby Hoblit each drove in runs.

Also recording hits for Covington were Carole Bayse and Cassie Yingst.

The victory improves the Lady Buccs to 15-3 overall and 6-2 in conference play as they look forward to a huge showdown with Greenville tomorrow. Greenville is the third-ranked Division II team in the state.

"We can't wait to play them," Denlinger said. "You always want to test yourself against the best and Greenville is a very strong team."

SCORING BY INNINGS:
Mississinawa ...............0...0...0...0...1 - 1 .. 0 .. 3
Covington .....................1...6...5...0...x - 12 .. 10 .. 0