Lincoln Land Community College Softball is ranked 5^th in the NJCAA Division II poll that was released today. The Loggers are now 22-3 overall. LLCC have 14 girls returning from the 2013 team who finished 9^th in the NJCAA National Tournament. The Loggers are hitting .398 as a team and .379 with runners in scoring position.

The Loggers are led by sophomore shortstop Melinda Wilson. Wilson a graduate of Blue Ridge High School is hitting .500 and .500 with runners in scoring position. Payton Billups (Streator) leads the Loggers with 9 home runs and a .400 batting average, followed by Rachel Wisner (East Richland) with 5 and Rachel Hastings (Maroa-Forsyth) with 4. Other Logger hitters with top batting averages include: Kayla Jacobs (Mattoon) .486, Hastings .423, Wisner .420, and .400 for Laura Bonds (Warrensburg-Latham).

Logger pitching has been exceptional with a team ERA of 2.23. Morgan Smith (Triopia) is 4-0 and leads the pitching staff with a 0.84 ERA. Sophomore pitchers for LLCC who have had strong performances this season include Claire Dubree (4-0), Katie Lange (4-1) and Whitley Baker (4-0). Freshman pitchers Hayley Long (3-1) and Sadie Mosher (3-0) have shown strong leadership on the mound.

Other Region XXIV/MWAC teams in the top twenty rankings include: Parkland (10^th) and Heartland (18^th). LLCC will play Heartland at home this Friday at 3 pm and they will travel to Parkland on Sunday.