The Western Brown Lady Broncos ranked third in the OHSAA Division I State Softball Coaches Poll released April 22 with 72 votes.
Ranking as the top Division I team in the state was Mt. Vernon (117), while Lakota East was second with 99 votes.
The Lady Broncos were leading the way in Southern Buckeye Athletic/Academic Conference American Division play at 7-0 as of April 24, and held a perfect overall record of 17-0.
In their past three outings, the Lady Broncos have outscored their opponents 41-1 with a 8-0 win at Goshen, a 19-0 win at home over Batavia, and a 14-1 road win over Wilmington.
Western Brown’s junior pitching star Sydni Barnes racked up 14 strikeouts in seven innings in another outstanding performance to aid the Lady Broncos to their April 18 win over Goshen.
Barnes also cranked out two doubles to go two-for-four batting.
Also among the Lady Broncos’ top hitters for the day was Andi Little, who went three-for-four with three doubles.
Western Brown’s Liz Hadley went two-for-three batting at Goshen with a double and a single.
As of April 24, Barnes had recorded 178 strikeouts in 107 innings of pitching, holding a 17-0 record with 10 shutouts, an ERA of 0.46 and a WHIP of 0.61.
Among the Lady Broncos’ hitting leaders this season has been Peyton Young, who held a .579 batting average with 33 hits in 57 at-bats as of April 24. Young has also hammered out five home runs this season.
Barnes held a .509 batting average with 28 hits in 55 at-bats, and Western Brown’s Lexi Wallace held a .471 batting average with 33 hits in 70 at-bats.
The Lady Broncos are scheduled to host the New Richmond Lady Lions on April 29.
