A trio of Poplar Bluff softball players earned first-team all-conference honors after the Mules went 6-2 in the SEMO Conference this fall.
Senior shortstop Audrey Rahlmann-Lack and juniors Emilee Cheek and Lauren Webb were named to the first team while juniors Ella Zgaynor and Breann Thresher, along with sophomore Clara Rahlmann were named to the second team.
Poplar Bluff’s only conference losses against Jackson and Notre Dame, which led with six first-team players.
Rahlmann-Lack was the only senior on a team that ended up 13-12.
“Audrey was a huge piece for us,” Mules coach Joel McDuffey said after Poplar Bluff’s season-ending loss to Jackson.
“The way she played defense at shortstop and just her leadership the whole season with the team. It’s going to be a big void to fill.”
Rahlmann-Lack led the team with 32 hits and 32 runs scored. She hit .390 with 14 RBIs and was second on the team with a .646 slugging percentage.
Cheek led the Mules with 34 RBIs, including eight with two outs, and a .492 average in 18 games. She struck out just six times in 63 plate appearances and had 18 extra-base hits with a team-high nine triples in 18 games.
Webb hit .392, was second on the team with 19 runs scored and had a .492 on-base percentage hitting in the No. 9 spot.
Zgaynor (.385 average), Thresher (.406) and Rahlmann (.380) also helped power an offense that averaged 6.6 runs per game.
Coming into the season, Thresher had only started three varsity games in the circle with 16 total innings pitched. She finished 10-8 with 22 walks and 41 strikeouts over 100 innings with a 4.39 ERA.
The Mules were 3-4 against teams that reached the state playoffs, losing 3-2 to Sullivan, the Class 3 champion, in the season-opening tournament. After losing the first meeting with Notre Dame 12-0, the Mules took a 5-3 lead into the sixth before the Bulldogs rallied to win 10-5. Jackson held off the Mules 6-2 in the district quarterfinal after winning 10-0 during the regular season.
None of the seven teams in the MSHSAA Class 5 District 1 tournament had a losing record and the Mules were seeded seventh.
“I think nerves hit them a little bit,” McDuffey said after the playoff loss, “but they learned how to play in a district game now so I think it will definitely help with their improvement.”