Athlete of the Week: Zumwalt East's Taylor Wins Award

Fort Zumwalt East's Nikki Taylor is the fan choice for top softball player from the first part of the 2012 season.

Fort Zumwalt East's Nikki Taylor's start to the season did not go unnoticed.  The Tigers' slugger—who leads the team in most offensive categories—won the Patch St. Charles County Athlete of the Week award.  Here's how the voting broke down: Which St. Charles County softball player has had the best start to the 2012 season? Taylor has been hitting just about everything this season for the Fort Zumwalt East Lions. Taylor leads the Lions in several offensive categories like batting average (.476), homers (three), RBIs (11) and steals (two). She has 10 hits on the year, six for extra bases—two doubles, a triple and three home runs. Taylor's slugging percentage of 1.095 is easily the best on the team. *** Patch wants to thank everyone who voted…

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Vote Now: Choose the Top Softball Player in St. Charles County

Help decide which St. Charles County softball player has gotten off to the best start in 2012.

Football may be king, but it's far from the only sport being played this fall.  After looking at football for the last two weeks in the St. Charles County Athlete of the Week fan poll, we're looking at a different sport.  This week we turn our attention to the softball field. Tell us in the poll below: Which St. Charles County softball player has had the best start to the 2012 season? Here are the nominees: Nikki Taylor—Fort Zumwalt East: Nikki Taylor has been hitting just about everything this season for the Fort Zumwalt East Lions. Taylor leads the Lions in several offensive categories like batting average (.476), homers (three), RBIs (11) and steals (two). She has 10 hits on the year, six for extra bases—two doubles, a triple and three …

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Sports Report

Sports Report: Cross Country Joins Football in District Action

The week of Oct. 17 is filled with must-see games all around St. Charles County.

As the weather gets colder, the games get bigger. Football playoffs are now in full swing and plenty of huge games are going to take place this Friday night. Other sports are also gearing up for big late-season action. Week 8 is in the books and that means everyone has played at least one District game. Week 9 is a chance for teams to either stay alive in District play, pull ahead or see hopes dashed. It is arguably the biggest week of the football regular season.  Here are some of the biggest Week 9 games.  St. Charles West vs. St. Dominic Fort Zumwalt East at Timberland  Holt vs. Fort Zumwalt North Fort Zumwalt West vs. Jefferson City This Saturday, Oct. 22, will be a big day at McNair Park in St. Charles. The boys and girls Class 4, …

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Sports Report

Playoff Time: Football and Softball Seasons Pick Up With Big Games

The week of Oct. 10 is filled with must-see games all around St. Charles County.

Weclome to the Sports Report. The second week in October is when the fall sports scene starts to heat up—the softball State tournament is starting this week and football Districts begin play for everyone.  Beginning last week with the District playoffs, softball teams have been in win-or-go-home mode. Those few teams that survived Districts are now into the final championship bracket. The three local teams—Fort Zumwalt South, St. Charles West and Christian High School in O'Fallon—are just four wins away from a State title. Zumwalt South will be going for the Class 4 title after winning the District 7 tournament. The Bulldogs will be taking on Troy on Wednesday in the first round of the tournament. Time and location are to be determined. …

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Sports Report

Football & Softball: The Week Ahead is Filled With Marquee Games

The week of Oct. 3 is filled with must-see games all around St. Charles County.

Welcome to the Sports Report.  Every Monday on Patch sites throughout St. Charles County we're going to take a moment to spotlight some of the top prep sports games for the upcoming week. By no means is this a comprehensive list, but it's a good guide for games that you probably don't want to miss.  Now, let's pick out some good games.  St. Charles West vs. Imagine College Prep Charter Fort Zumwalt East vs. Fort Zumwalt North Fort Zumwalt South vs. Holt St. Dominic at Bishop DuBourg Fort Zumwalt West vs. Timberland Duchesne vs. Ladue Horton Watkins District play starts this week and the Class 4, District 8 Tournament should be a good one. Holt, St. Dominic, Timberland, Zumwalt West and Zumwalt North will be battling for a chance to keep …

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Zumwalt East Junior Patience Pays Off at the Plate

Kristin Mikel is helping the Lions softball team this season.

Although the Fort Zumwalt East softball team failed to pull out a win against St. Charles last week, junior Kristin Mikel certainly turned in a banner performance.  Mikel went 3-for-4 at bat in the 4-3 loss. She doubled in the first and third innings and singled in the eighth. The junior had compiled a .278 batting average before Tuesday’s contest. She’s unwilling to hog all of the credit for her success.  “We worked on hitting yesterday,” Mikel said. “I was struggling on hitting over the summer but he’s (East Coach Steve Loutzenhiser) helped me out a lot.”  Mikel said she was struggling on hitting to the opposite side (right) over the summer with her select team the St. Peters Mustangs. The junior also said Loutzenhiser taught her how to …

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First Inning Hits Carry Eagles to Win Over Cougars

Solid defense on both teams made the difference.

It came down to defense after both the Orchard Farm Eagles and visiting Lutheran St. Charles Cougars scored in the first innings. The Cougars batted first and scored one run, only to give up three in the bottom of the inning to the Eagles. Then Cougars starting pitcher Rachel Tharp and starter Emily Echele from the Eagles settled in and kept the game scoreless for the next six innings. Both pitchers were helped by great defense as the outfielders tracked down fly balls from foul line to foul line and the shortstops let nothing get past. Orchard Farm won the game 3-1, improving to 9-2. The Eagles will play Westminister (9-5) at home at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.  Lutheran St. Charles fell to 2-8 and will play Trinity (4-6) at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday.

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Lutheran Junior Comes Up Big for Lady Cougars

Outfielder Sami Liefer is contributing on the softball field this season.

Lutheran St. Charles junior softball outfielder Sami Liefer proved to be valuable in last week's home win over Rosati-Kain.  Liefer’s two-run double in the fifth gave hear team an 8-4 lead. It was a lead Lutheran would maintain until the end of the contest.  “I’ve been struggling all year,” Liefer said. “The high school season tends to be tough for me and I don’t know why. I struggled on the previous two at-bats so I focused on the fact that I had runners on and we had to score.”  Lutheran’s offense set a season-high for runs scored in the game. In addition, Lutheran also banged out 11 hits. The junior felt her team’s pitching supported the hitting.  “Rachel (Tharp) did a great job of pitching today,” Liefer said. “And that carried over to…

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Lady Cougars' Offense Explodes in Big Win

The Lutheran St. Charles softball team knocks off Rosati-Kain on Tuesday.

Two-strong innings greatly aided the Lutheran High School of St. Charles County Lady Cougars softball team’s cause in an AAA Conference contest against the Rosati-Kain Kougars on Tuesday. Although the game was back and forth in the early innings, the Lady Cougars (2-6, 1-2) earned an 8-4 victory over the Kougars (4-4, 1-2).  The contest was tied up at one, two, and three runs in the first three innings. The fourth inning proved to be a turning point, as an unearned run in the fourth gave the Cougars (2-6, 1-2) a 4-3 advantage. Just minutes later, Kelsey Brannon’s one-run single made the score 5-3.  “We scored more runs in this game than in any of our other games,” Lutheran head coach Jon Bernhardt said. “Our bats finally came alive. It was…

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