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Four Rifle players named to Åll-WSL softball first team

Phil Sandoval

Rifle High School’s return to dominance on the softball diamond earned four Bears a spot on the 2002 Class 4A All-Western Slope League first team.

Pitcher Erica Graham, catcher Skylar Bell and infielders Brooke St. Pierre and Kari Wiig were voted to the first-team by the league’s coaches.

Wiig is the only junior of the four Bear honorees. The other three players are seniors.



Rifle, who won the 2002 regular season championship for the first time in the eight-year history of the program, earned the most first-team selections with four.

Palisade, who upset Montrose, 10-4, in Saturday’s District 7 tournament to advance to this week’s state regionals, had three players voted to the first team.



Representing the Bulldogs are seniors Sammi Richard and Dayna Martin and Chandra Scarrow, the only sophomore selected to the nine-member team.

Delta infielders Kammi Thomas and Jess Buchhelm were also named to the first-team by the league’s coaches.

Three additional Rifle players, Jennie Spillane, Kristina Dahlin and Jenny Hughes earned honorable mention.

State playoff bracket set

The Bears’ 4-3 win over Delta at Saturday’s District tournament earned them the No. 8 seed among the 16 remaining Class 4A softball teams to reach this week’s state regional tournament.

Rifle (15-5) opens Friday’s regional play at Aurora’s Olympic Park against No. 9 Centaurus (12-7) out of the Skyline League. That game is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m.

Palisade, the other Western Slope League representative, is the 16th seed. The Bulldogs drew No. 1 Pueblo East (19-2) as its first opponent.

If Rifle defeats Centaurus in the first-round of the single elimination tournament, they play the winner of the Pueblo South-Palisade game Friday at 2:30 p.m.

The four winning teams from regionals, advance to the state semifinals on Saturday morning. Semifinal winners play for the 4A state championship at 2 p.m.


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