Greene County went 16-14 during the recently completed high school softball season and hitting was a big reason the Rams recorded their ninth straight winning season under the direction of head coach Tom Kennedy. Final season statistics show the Rams had a team batting average of .301 for the 30 games played in 2016, a number made even more impressive by the fact Greene County returned just two starters from the 2014 and ’15 teams that placed third in Class 3A State Tournaments both years. Perhaps even more impressive were the 19 home runs the Rams hit this season, considering they returned a total of two career homers heading into the 2016 campaign.

Senior Carleigh Paup led the team in batting average at .446 as a left-handed slap hitter who batted lead off. She had four home runs, four triples, 12 doubles, and 24 runs batted in. Two of the homers cleared the fences, unusual for a slap hitter. Freshman Megan Carey completed her first full season slap hitting and she batted .429 in her first season as a starter, which included a four for four performance in the Rams’ Class 4A regional tournament loss to Perry and pitcher Emma Olejniczak, a University of Northern Iowa recruit.

Two other Rams batted well over .300 for the season. Senior Sydney Koch hit .353 with five home runs, a triple, 11 doubles, and 35 runs batted in, and junior Hannah Promes had a .337 batting average with a home runs, four doubles, and 25 batted in.