Alton and Scyoc won their first four games of the season, Scyoc getting the win in each of those games against Greenfield, Quincy, East Alton-Wood River and Bunker Hill. The Redbirds dropped their two most recent contests to Roxana and Jersey, Scyoc taking the loss in both games to drop to a record of 4-2, but her start so far has been phenomenal. The Redbirds are scheduled to open their Southwestern Conference schedule at O’Fallon Tuesday and host Belleville East Thursday.

“Our team really came through at the end,” Scyoc said following Wednesday's game. “It was great our offense really put on the top at the end. We had some difficulty in our defense, but our offense really pulled through and our pitchers did a great job (Scyoc followed Sydney Hartman and Savannah Fisher in the circle Wednesday).

“We've got to be ready for situations like that,” Scyoc said of the Minutemaids' rally from 10-1 down in through three innings to pull to 10-8 through six before the Redbirds put up two insurance runs for some breathing room. “Our team really works together and we pulled through.”

Scyoc has been playing softball since she was 5 years old. “I started with the Black Widows (club), but I'm currently with St. Louis Espirit,” Scyoc said. “My older brother always played baseball, so I wanted to follow in his footsteps and play softball.”

Being a freshman on one of the area's better teams in Alton will give Scyoc opportunities, she believes. “There's a lot of potential,” Scyoc said. “I've been dying to play here at the high school. I hope that our team grows stronger as a whole and that we keep winning.”