Team ConXion aims for 1st place

Team ConXion finished seventh at the ASA national tournament two years ago. This year, the team is aiming for first.

Team ConXion, featuring players from several local schools, won its first two pool-play games Thursday at the ASAB National Tournament in Overland Park, Kan., near Kansas City.

“The first one, we came out pretty hot and we hit the ball real well,” said Team ConXion head coach Ty Gebhardt, who also coaches the Virginia/A-C Central High School softball team. “The girl from Springfield (Nicole Garland) threw real well, and Taylor Wernsing, she pitched the last three innings, and she did a real good job, too.”

The two wins on Thursday earned the team a first-round bye in the double-elimination stage of the tournament, which begins today. Team ConXion will play the Kansas City Avalanche at 1 p.m. today.

“The girls are having a lot of fun and we’ve got a lot of downtime, so they can do a lot of things,” Gebhardt said. “But we came to play.”

Team ConXion got things started Thursday with an 8-1 win over the Kansas City Bees, and finished the day with a 3-1 win over the Wisconsin Freedom, the Wisconsin state champions.

In the second game, Beardstown’s Kirsten Lindley tied the game with a hit in the fourth inning, and Virginia/A-C Central’s Haley Horney drove in Lindley to take the lead.

Team ConXion added a run in the sixth inning to help seal the pitching win for Auburn’s Stephanie Angelo.

With Thursday’s two wins, Team ConXion now stands just five victories away from a national title.

“That would be amazing,” Gebhardt said. “Two years ago we went to nationals and got seventh, and they got to see the big trophy last night, and they’ve got a shot.

“There’s some good teams down here, but I think we can bring some hardware home.”

Members of the team include Kayla Birdsell (Chandlerville), Madalyn Allen (Chandlerville), Megan Bergerud (Virginia), Horney (Virginia), Kate Williams (Virginia), Sidney Coleman (Auburn), Angelo (Auburn), Andi Butler (Auburn), Kelsie Dearing (Pleasant Plains), Chrissy Miller (Pleasant Plains), Marissa Jenkins (Pleasant Plains), Lindley (Beardstown), Wernsing (Raymond Lincolnwood) and Garland (Springfield).