Spartans roll in White's return

  OXFORD -- Jim White is by no means a neat freak.But he spent the majority of his day housekeeping in his office at school."I tried to keep as busy as I could," he said.Anything to keep his mind from straying toward the inevitable.White returned to McAreavy Field on Thursday, and his Class 4A fourth-ranked Solon Spartans handled Clear Creek Amana, 9-0, in a Wamac Conference cross-divisional softball game.Lots of memories. Lots of emotion. And White wasn't the only one strolling down Memory Lane."I was really looking forward to it, but I was kind of dreading it," said Solon shortstop Mallory Madsen, one of several players to follow White after his  decision in October to vacate his softball post after 18 seasons and six state championships, and start over at Solon."I was ready to play, but I started crying once I stepped on the field," Madsen said. "It brought back a lot of memories. But the (Solon) girls were really supportive."The message was clear."I told the girls before the game, 'No matter what, let's stick together,' " White said.The Spartans (13-0) jumped in front immediately, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. Madsen, Alyssa Rickels and Taylor Nearad opened the game with two singles and a double.That was plenty for sophomore pitcher Emily Ira (5-0), who pitched six scoreless innings. She surrendered two hits and threw 70 pitches, 59 for strikes.An RBI double by Riley Ogden -- another former Clipper -- made it 4-0 in the third inning. It stayed that way until the seventh, when Solon tallied five unearned runs, including a two-run home run by Ali Herdliska."We had more positives than negatives tonight, but when you play a quality ball club like Solon, you have to take care of the little things," said CCA Coach Rachel West, whose team dipped to 3-5.West was an assistant at Solon last year."Like (White), I have a lot of mixed emotions," she said. "But in the end, it's a game."White won 809 games at Clear Creek Amana, many of them on this diamond. Thursday, when he stood in the coaching box, he was about 10 feet away from his former dugout, his former players."They're like family," he said. "It's tough."I had blocked this out of my mind until (Tuesday) night, after we played Western Dubuque. Then it started to hit me that this was next."And now it's past. And nobody seemed to mind."It was awkward. I was not looking forward to seeing their faces again," Madsen said. "They're my friends, but they're not my friends (today) until after the game."  

Emily Ira, Miranda Hochstetler (7) and Ali Herdliska. Grace Chabal and Eden Campbell. W -- Ira (5-0). L -- Chabal (1-3). HR -- Herdliska (2).

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Solon

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5

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9

8

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Clear Creek Amana

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5