Lady Vikings continue to roll, defeat Harrison and Reitz

By Chris Morlan

The North Posey Lady Viking softball team continues to lock and load each season. Last Monday evening, the Lady Vikings played at home against the Evansville Harrison Lady Warriors.

It was the Lady Warriors first game of the season and North Posey’s second game of the year. This game only lasted five innings with North Posey beating Harrison by the final score of 17-3. For the season, the Lady Vikings remain undefeated at 2-0, while Harrison falls to 0-1. Over the last two meetings, North Posey outscored Harrison 37-5. Last year’s score was 20-2 in favor of the Lady Vikings.

North Posey started the game with sophomore Ayela Hoehn in the pitcher’s circle. Hoehn got the win and went one inning, allowing one hit, one run, two walks with one strikeout on twenty-six pitches thrown. Sophomore Alli Esche threw four innings on the mound, giving up five hits, two runs, two walks with three strikeouts on 62 pitches thrown over the plate.

The Lady Vikings scored three runs in the top of the first inning, seven in the second inning, four in the third inning, and three in the fourth inning. The Lady Vikings as a team had 13 hits in the game.

Lady Viking junior Madison Versteeg was perfect at the plate going four for four with a double, three runs batted in, and a run scored. Paige Vaughn went two for four with a double, four runs batted in, two runs scored and a stolen base. Mylee Allen had two hits on three batting appearances along with four runs batted in.

Taryn Wilson went two for three hitting with three runs batted in and three runs scored. Lily Hester went one for one hitting with four runs, two runs batted in, three walks, and three stolen bases. Freshman Avery Sanders hit a double, scored two runs, and stole a base.

Ayela Hoehn had one hit, followed by Kayla Lindenschmidt with one run, one walk, and a stolen base. Makenna Hoehn scored two runs. Alyssa Sanders and Emmylou Pate each scored a run.

For Evansville Harrison, the Lady Warriors had six hits on the three runs scored. Freshmen Kylen Mackey went two for three with two doubles. Lilly Hardin, another Harrison freshman, had two hits and drove in a run.

On Tuesday evening, the Lady Vikings traveled across the Ohio River to play against the undefeated Henderson County Colonels. North Posey came into this matchup with a 2-0 record, while Henderson County was 8-0.

The pitching from Henderson County was brutal as the starter has already committed to Ole Miss for her collegiate career. She held North Posey to one hit and scoreless for the entire game. Henderson County beat North Posey by the final score of 10-0 in a game that only lasted six innings.

Lady Viking sophomore Ayela Hoehn had the only North Posey hit of the game on a single. Hoehn also reached base on a walk. Lily Hester, Paige Vaughn, and Madison Versteeg each had one walk in the game.

Alli Esche took the loss in the pitcher’s circle. Esche threw five innings, allowing seven hits, seven runs, five earned runs, three walks and no strikeouts on 87 pitches thrown and 27 batters faced. Ayela Hoehn pitched the sixth inning giving up two hits, three runs, three earned runs, and three walks on 19 pitches.

Last Friday afternoon, the Lady Viking softball team was back at home playing against the Evansville Reitz Lady Panthers. Prior to this matchup, North Posey was looking to bounce back after the loss to Henderson County, while Reitz was looking to stay undefeated.

Reitz jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after one inning. North Posey snapped back with two runs to gain the lead at 2-1, ending the first. Reitz tied the game 2-2 in the middle of the third. North Posey regained the advantage at 3-2 at the end of the third. Then Reitz tied the game again at 3-3 in the middle of the fourth.

North Posey rallied back, scoring four runs in the fifth inning and three more scores in the sixth to move on and win 10-6. This improved the Lady Vikings season record to three wins and one loss. Reitz’s season record fell to one win and one loss.

As a team, North Posey had nine hits in the game. Juniors Lily Hester and Taryn Wilson each went three for four hitting, one double with three runs apiece. Paige Vaughn went two for four at the plate with a double and two runs batted in. Alli Esche received the win in the pitcher’s circle for the Lady Vikings. Ayela Hoehn got the save for North Posey.

VARSITY SOFTBALL:

Evansville Reitz vs. North Posey (April 3, 2026) – at North Posey HS

REI...1 0 1 1 0 2 1…6 Runs, 10 Hits, 4 Errors

NP…2 0 1 0 4 3 X…10 Runs, 9 Hits, 4 Errors

WP – Alli Esche (NP); LP – Kaiya Smyth (REITZ).

North Posey Hitting: Lily Hester (3-for-4, 3 R, 2 SB); Taryn Wilson (3-for-4, 3 R, 3 SB); Madison Versteeg (1-for-3, 1 RBI); Paige Vaughn (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 SB); Ayela Hoehn (0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 SB); Alyssa Sanders (0-for-3); Kayla Lindenschmidt (0-for-3); Makenna Hoehn (0-for-2); Sydney Maines (0-for-1); Avery Sanders (0-for-2, 2 R, 1 BB).

Doubles: Lily Hester (1), Taryn Wilson (1), Paige Vaughn (1); Total Bases: Lily Hester (4), Taryn Wilson (4), Paige Vaughn (3), Madison Versteeg (1); Hit-by-Pitch: Madison Versteeg (1); Errors: Alli Esche, Alyssa Sanders, Madison Versteeg, Taryn Wilson.

North Posey Pitching: Alli Esche (5.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K); Ayela Hoehn (1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K); Pitches-Strikes: Alli Esche 82-58, Ayela Hoehn 30-20; Batters Faced: Alli Esche (28), Ayela Hoehn (8).