'Burg ranked third in D-V, ND sixth in D-VII OHSFSCA State Poll

Same song, different verse.

Two familiar Scioto County powerhouse softball programs again find themselves back near the top of the heap in the first edition of the Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association State Poll on Monday, as the Wheelersburg Pirates' softball program sits third in the OHSAA Division V realm while the Notre Dame Titans' softball program currently sits sixth in the OHSAA Division VII realm as of Monday morning.

Wheelersburg, third, 79 points (four first place votes), OHSFSCA Division V State Poll

Coming in with an impressive start to the season, the Wheelersburg Pirates' softball program holds a 5-3 overall record with four wins by shutout and a victory Saturday over present No. 3 Division I state-ranked Watkins Memorial this past Saturday (11-5) on its resume as the Lady Pirates, under the leadership of longtime head coach Teresa Ruby and her staff, continue producing a top-notch resume.

Wheelersburg, who only sits behind Springfield Shawnee (82 points, five first-place votes) and Baltimore Liberty Union (98 points, two first-place votes) in the state rankings, lost its three contests to the No. 1 team in Division IV in Kenton Ridge (7-5), the No. 1 team in Division II in Anthony Wayne (1-0) and the No. 2 team in Division I in Hilliard Bradley (3-2).

The dynamic attack has been led so far by sophomore Lauren Truitt, who is hitting .636 at the plate with a home run, four doubles and eight RBI, as well as Charleston (W. Va.) verbal commit and junior third baseman Makenzie Mullins, who is hitting .500 with a home run, three doubles, a triple and a team-leading 10 RBI in 2026.

Maryland signee and senior center fielder Ava Estep (.483, 2 HR, 4 2B, 4 RBI, 13 R), sophomore catcher Mati Jennings (.452, 3 HR, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 7 SB, 13 R) and Shawnee State signee and senior Jalynn Drake (.429, 2B, 6 RBI, 5 R) have also been heavy hitters offensively, as has Shawnee State volleyball signee Mylee Jo Gleim who is hitting .387 and has matched Jennings with a team-leading three home runs to go along with six doubles, six RBI and 11 runs scored.

Defensively, Jennings heads the charge from her catching position, having not committed a single error in 70 defensive chances.

She has successfully caught the strong efforts of freshman pitcher Rylan Butcher and junior arm Emmee Eaton — with Butcher (3-2, 1.70 ERA, five complete games, two shutouts) and Eaton (2-1, 0.44 ERA, three complete games, two shutouts) heading the way.

Butcher and Eaton have combined to strike out 65 batters while walking just 13 for an impressive five-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio to begin the season.

Notre Dame, sixth, 33 points (one first-place vote), OHSFSCA Division VII State Coaches Poll

Out to an impressive 9-2 start themselves following an undefeated stretch in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Notre Dame sits sixth in the OHSFSCA Division VII State Coaches Poll with wins over Jackson, Parma Heights Holy Name, Fremont Ross, Otsego, Ironton, Northwest and Chesterfield (S.C.), all schools of larger enrollment, on its resume. The Lady Titans also have two wins over SOC I foe East to boot.

Notre Dame's batting order has been impressive from top to bottom as three everyday players — Bella Rush, Kate Entler and Alayla Soard — are each batting at or above .560 for the season so far, with five everyday players hitting above .500 when one throws in both Kennedy Lyon and Jaysa Bryant.

Soard, a Ball State signee, is hitting .560 with two home runs, two triples, two doubles, 11 walks, eight RBI and 15 runs scored while Entler, who is hitting .567, has two home runs, a triple, three doubles, five walks, 14 RBI and six runs scored.

Bella Rush, who leads the team with a .593 average, has five doubles, nine RBI and eight runs scored to boot on the season from the bottom of the order.

Bryant, who is hitting .542, has a home run, three doubles, nine RBI and eight runs scored while Lyon, who is batting .517, has accumulated two doubles, five walks, nine RBI and 11 runs scored.

Maycee Ford is batting .364 with 14 runs scored from her leadoff position in the batting order while Lyndsey Schaefer has six extra base hits — including five doubles and a homer — to go along with 11 RBI, six runs scored and a .333 average.

Laikyn Puckett, who has gone 7-for-10 at the plate in her last four games with two triples, seven RBI and eight runs scored, has been a major contributor as well as Audrey Bach, who has come up with timely hits herself. Candace Oudeh, Kameryn Stringer, MaKenna Hadsell and Sophie Phillips have been highly capable courtesy runners and productive in their own at-bats.

Lastly, Ava Rush, who is batting .450 herself at the plate, spearheads it all as the team's ace in the circle. In nine appearances and seven starts, Rush is 5-2 inside the circle with 56 strikeouts to just 15 walks and has only given up eight earned runs in her nine appearances all year.