Tanner’s Andie Casper helps lead team to title

For her first season pitching softball, Andie Casper has certainly made the most of it.
During her first game of the year, she struck out nine batters in a win for Tanner Construction.
In her last game of the season, Casper struck out six to help lead Tanner to an 11-4 win over top-seeded Fat Daddy’s in the Pittsburg Fastpitch Association Senior League tournament championship Friday night at the Gene Bicknell Sports Complex.
But, the win did not come easy.
Fat Daddy’s jumped on the board first with a trio of singles from Devany Allen, Jordan Dee and Katie Amershek to take a 3-0 lead after the first inning.
“I was worried for a bit because the girls let their body English get down,” said Tanner Construction coach Larry Tanner. “But, I knew they could come back.”
With the help of Casper, that is exactly what they did.
It came by way of a six-run fourth inning that helped Tanner Construction take a 7-3 lead.
It all started with a lead-off single from Savanna Smith. Then, Casper helped her own cause by laying down a bunt that found Smith safe at home.
From there, Amanda Garrett singled and Ashley Broyles along with Baylee Hizey each drew walks.
Ashley Hizey cranked out an two-run double into left-center field. Brianna Maxwell ended the run with an RBI single into centerfield.
Even at that point, Fat Daddy’s coach Shay Sievert was not concerned.
“I’ve watched them battle all year and they really played their hearts out,” Sievert said.
With the lead, Casper was able to settle and hold Fat Daddy’s to just one run — unearned — in the fourth.
“I just tried to get the team back up [after Fat Daddy’s took the lead],” Casper said. “We just shake it off.”
They did just that and was able to hold Fat Daddy’s in the final frame.
“That [third inning] was the key point for us,” Casper said. “It was big for us to be focused and play our game.”
Tanner Construction finished the regular season on a four-game winning streak and won all three of their games in the tournament to claim the title.
It also marks the third consecutive title for Larry Tanner as a coach.
“They worked and they just gelled,” Tanner said. “It was just like a family.”
Despite finishing first in the regular season, Sievert was still happy for her team’s performance over the course of the season.“We focused so much on having fun that the girls really came back and played hard,” Sievert said. “Tanner is a great team and we were glad to see them get it.”

Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140. Follow Morning Sun sports at twitter.com/mssports.

Pittsburg Fastpitch Association
Senior Division tournament
Championship
Friday, July 10, 2009
Tanner Construction 11, Fat Daddy’s 4, 4 inn.
Fat Daddy’s    300 1 — 4 4 5
Tanner    017 3 — 11 7 1
Andie Casper and Kim Smith. Katie Amershek and Jordan Dee. WP — Casper. LP — Amershek. LOB — Tanner Construction 4, Fat Daddy’s 2. E — Amanda Garrett; Devany Allen, Amanda McBride 3, Kristen Redd. 2B — Ashlee Hizey; McBride. SB — Casper, Garrett 2, Ashley Broyles. CS — Cara Hardister.