BY JOSH HOUCHINS

Herald-Whig Sport Writer

PAYSON, Ill. -- The Payson Seymour softball team let the one thing it could not control affect them Wednesday night -- the weather.

A treacherous wind blowing in hard from left field caused the Lady Indians multiple problems, including a play in the second inning that seemed to break the team's spirit in a 5-1 loss to Quincy Notre Dame.

A seemingly harmless flyball to left off the bat of QND's Renita Bunte to leadoff the top of the second caught a gust of wind and fell in front of the left fielder.

Bunte eventually came around to score the first run of the game, sending both teams in different directions.

"Anytime we play this game (with QND), it's an emotional one for us," Payson coach Jeff Zanger said.

"We get fired up and then they score a run and we go straight down quick. We would have liked to make that play, and think at other times we do. But today we just didn't get to it."

Freshman Kelsey Ley went 2 for 3 with two doubles, while Elise Obert also collected two hits for QND (7-2).

The Radiers also received a complete-game, four-hitter by starter Kristy Obert (4-0) to get back to its winning ways following a 9-5 setback to Piasa Southwestern on Monday.

"We pushed through hard and wanted to get a win tonight," said Ley, who entered the past weekend hitting a team-high .523.

"I think the more games we play, the more comfortable we will feel out there because we are still learning how to play with each other."

For QND, it was all about establishing an early lead.

After surrendering six unanswered runs by the second inning against Piasa, the Lady Raiders used a little more help from the weather in the third to increase their lead.

Following a leadoff double to left by Ley, Elise Obert's flyball to right-center forced both outfielders to merge, causing a collision and Obert subsequently winding up on third.

A Morgan Grawe sacrifice fly two batters later gave QND a 3-0 lead, one which it would not relinquish.

"We were able to take advantage of the wind and the conditions today while also using good pitching," QND coach Eric Orne said. "Kristy used her defense and we got a good, complete win."

Kristy Obert struck out four while allowing four hits -- only one after a two-hit third inning in which the Lady Indians scored their lone run on a two-out single to right off the bat of freshman Jade Delcour.

"Obert threw a nice game," Zanger said. "She mixed up speeds well and we didn't adjust to that. We also took way too many pitches down the middle.

"But QND's left side of the defense is so good and we seemed to hit a majority of our shots there."

Kristy Obert induced 11 groundball outs, including six to a left side that is manned by seniors Bunte at third base and Elise Obert at shortstop.

"She threw strikes and that's very important," Orne said of his starting pitcher. "She didn't allow many walks, which can really come back to get you in the end. She probably pitched her best game of the year so far."

An RBI triple by Danielle Sanders in the top of the sixth pushed the QND lead to 4-1, with Sanders scoring two batters later on a passed ball to push the margin to four.

Sophomore Alese Speckhart (8-2) suffered the loss for the Lady Indians (11-3), who have dropped two straight.