BUCYRUS (Crawford County Now) — The late Jerry “Pudge” Hargis was remembered fondly by those who knew him best at Jack Hewitt Field Friday evening.

Hargis, who coached softball at Bucyrus from 2000 to 2024, died Dec. 7 at age 77.

“Pudge meant a lot to the program. When he passed, the whole team was there for the calling hours,” said Bucyrus first-year head coach Mike Middleton.

“A lot of the girls were really close to Pudge. Outside of softball Pudge would help the girls. He had some golfers on the team, and he went out and golfed with them. He cared about these girls and anytime one of them would call and say I need help, he’d be out here on the field helping them develop their individual skills,” he said.

“It’s a huge loss. He was just a great guy overall.”

Prior to the game against Northern 10 Athletic Conference and country rival Buckeye Central, former coaches and players, along with players from both squads, gathered on the field.

Pudge’s wife, Pat, and their daughters, Brittany and Molly, and granddaughter Kallie Moermond, joined them.

A plaque bearing Hargis’ name will be put in the new home dugout that will be built later this year.

“More than wins and losses, Pudge worked to make sure his players had an enjoyable experience on and off the field. At the same time developing those tools and values that can be used long after softball and graduation had passed,” Middleton said.

“He would tell his players — and we heard this a lot as players and as coaches — work hard at what you’re working on.”

The Buckettes jumped out to a 10-0 lead with 8 first-inning hits en route to a 20-2 victory.

Adrienne “AJ” Jury’s 3-run blast to left field was the big blow. Jury was one of four Buckeye players with three hits each, along with Savannah Pace, Leah Fields, and Phoebe Rafferty.

“It was a cold one, but I’m pretty happy with our energy tonight. We’re still making progress,” Buckettes head coach Todd Messmer said.

BC won the first meeting at home Tuesday night, 9-8.

“We’ve been working on a few weaknesses like bunting coverage. We went back to the cage and worked on our hitting. Our goals are we want to be a good defensive team and a good hitting team,” he said.

Nine Buckettes combined for 19 total hits, to go along with 13 in that first outing and six against Ridgedale’s ace Kenzie Delaney in a 5-3 win on Thursday.

The visitors added four more runs in the second, one in the third and five in the fourth.

“We want to contend in the N10. Mohawk is always up there and Upper (Sandusky). We want to compete with them. It’s a long season, so we’ll see what we can do,” Messmer said.

Senior pitcher Grace Collene struck out eight Lady Red hitters, issued one walk, and scattered three hits. She also homered in the fourth and doubled to drive in five runs.

“Grace has been tremendous all four years. She don’t buckle under pressure,” he added. “She comes back if she throws a bad pitch, and we expect good things out of her this year.”

Bucyrus plated two runs in the third inning.

Karlie Shull reached on a walk, Addie Weber singled, and Marissa Middleton followed suit.

Middleton has a young squad featuring several first-year players and a handful of seniors.

“We struggled with our pitch location and they’re a good hitting team. We made some errors and that’s on us as a coaching staff to get them ready. Up at Buckeye they hit the ball well, but we made plays,” he said.

“They’re a veteran team and we start several new girls, four or five depending on the game.”

Bucyrus used three pitchers and moved position players around throughout the contest.

“We’re still looking during our scrimmages and in the first couple games as to where all the girls are going in the lineup. Where they’re at in the field and where they’re going to hit,” Middleton said.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Buckeye Central    (10)41 50X X      20      19       1

Bucyrus                        002 00X X        2         3       2

WP: Grace Collene (8 SO, 1 W)

LP: Bell Bruss (0 SO, 1 W)

HR: (BC) A.J. Jury (3-run, first inning), Grace Collene (2-run, fourth inning).

Triples: (BC) Megan Siefert.

Doubles: (BC) Zoey Hoskins 2, A.J. Jury, Grace Collene, Aleyse Siefert, Savannah Pace.

Multiple hits: (BC) A.J. Jury 3, Phoebe Rafferty 3, Leah Fields 3, Savannah Pace 3, Grace Collene, Zoey Hoskins.

Records: Buckeye Central 3-0, 2-0 N10; Bucyrus 0-3, 0-2 N10.

Next: Wynford at Buckeye Central, Tuesday; Bucyrus at Fredericktown, Saturday.