Three Karns City Grads, Former Moniteau Coach Help Butler Co. Community College Softball to NJCAA Region Title

BUTLER, Pa. – Three District 9 alums helped the Butler County Community College softball team capture the NJCAA Region 20 championship over the weekend at Westmoreland Community College.

(Cover photo: Front row: Ashley Coons. Back row (from left) Saydie Moore, Dan Beebe, Taylor Downs)

Karns City graduates Taylor Downs, Ashley Coon and Saydie Moore all played key roles in the Pioneers capturing the title with two wins over Anne Arundel Community College and a win over Westmoreland County Community College.

BC3 beat Westmoreland 11-0 in five innings Friday before topping Anne Arundel 9-2 Saturday and 4-2 Sunday to win the title. During the weekend, Coons, a second baseman/third baseman, had four hits, including two triples, and three RBIs, while Moore, a left fielder, had a pair of doubles, two RBIs and was named to the All-Region Tournament team.

The Pioneers, who also won the WPCC regular-season and tournament titles, will play Suffolk County Community College in the NJCAA District Championship starting Saturday on Long Island, N.Y. It’s a best-of-three series with games at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday and an if-necessary game Sunday. The winner of the District championship advances to the national championship tournament in Minnesota in two weeks.

On the season, Coons is hitting .500 and leads the team with six triples. Moore is hitting .427 while Downs, a utility player, is batting .444.

Another name familiar to District 9 fans is involved with the program, as former Moniteau head coach Dan Beebe is in his first season as an assistant with the Pioneers after guiding Moniteau to the PIAA Class 2A title game a year ago and three straight D9 2A titles.