After a dominant 4-0 start to the season, the Charles Page High School fast pitch softball team (4-5) hit its first slump in a 1-5 performance at the Broken Arrow Tournament this weekend. The Lady Sandites averaged ten runs and twelve hits over their first four games, but after a 5-0 shutout of Tahlequah in the first round of the tournament, things began to fall apart.
SEE RELATED: Freshman Nataley Crawford pitches no-hitter 5-0 shutout of Tahlequah.
Sand Springs notched five hits against the defending State Champions from Westmoore (6-1), briefly led after a fourth inning home run from Makenna Skaggs, and went into overtime before losing in a walkoff. They benefited from two walks and an error but stranded seven base runners and committed four errors of their own.
The Jaguars got the tie in the bottom of the fourth without a single hit thanks to errors at second, third, and short. Mattie Lee reached on an error in the bottom of the sixth and scored on a double from Aynslee Linduff for the victory.
Aliyah Taff (2-3, 6-9) took the loss on the mound, throwing seven hits and two strikeouts with no walks. Hannah Harrison secured the win for Westmoore with five hits, three strikeouts, and three walks.
Next up for the Sandites were the defending 3A State Champions from Tahlequah Sequoyah (9-0) who continued their seventeen-game win streak with their fourth shutout of the season, holding the Sandites scoreless for the first time in three years.
The Indians outhit Sand Springs ten to five en route to an 11-0 win. Sabrina Usher went two-for-two at the plate and Felicity Horn hit a double, but the Sandites only really threatened once, in the bottom of the fourth. Trailing 7-0, Usher, Jaden Jordan, and Skaggs hit singles with no outs to load the bases. Sequoyah quickly recovered with a strikeout and pair of force outs at third to save the inning.
Mackenzie Bechtold (1-1, 5-1) suffered her first career loss, throwing ten hits, two walks, and no strikeouts. Sequoyah went undefeated in the tournament, outscoring their foes 45-9.
Next to top the Sandites was a tough State Semifinalist team from Yukon (7-1), by a much closer score of 5-2. The Millerettes did all of their damage in the second inning, and errors were a contributing factor.
Both teams stranded runners in the first inning but Sand Springs left two dry in the second and Yukon brought five home. Two infield errors put the Millers in scoring position and Hannah Hurtz brought both in with a double. AJ Rayburn doubled in Hurtz, then McKenna Johnson hit a 2RBI homer before the inning came to a close.
Jolee McNally drove in Horn on a single in the third but the Sandites stranded loaded bases and their best shot at a comeback. Madison Lee scored the final run on an error in the fifth.
Taff got the loss for Sand Springs with six hits, one strikeout, and no walks. Kaylee Bradley got the win with five hits, two strikeouts, and three walks.
The host team from Broken Arrow (7-0) topped the Sandites 8-3 on their way to an undefeated tournament performance, outhitting Sand Springs 11 to 6. Nataley Crawford (1-1) took the loss with two walks and one strikeout. Kailee Reese got the win with one strikeout and one walk.
Lee scored the first run for Sand Springs on an RBI single from McNally in the top of the first then the Tigers scored on a passed ball in the second to tie it. Lee hit a sacrifice fly in the third to bring in Crawford for the lead and Usher hit a home run, but that was the end of the Sandites’ offense.
Three hits and two errors in the bottom of the third gave Broken Arrow the advantage and they added to it with five hits and two errors in the fourth. The Tigers scored two more on three hits in the fifth before time expired.
Finally, the Sandites fell 5-1 to Southmoore (4-2) in the final game of the weekend. The Sandite bats were unusually quiet, as only Usher and Rachel Jones were able to connect.
The Jaguars scored three runs on two hits and two errors in the top of the second. Skaggs was hit by pitch in the bottom of the inning and scored on Jones’s single, but Southmoore responded immediately with two more runs in the third and the rest of the game was uneventful for both sides.
Taff got the loss with six hits, one walk, and two strikeouts. Abi Jones got the win with three walks and three strikeouts.
Sand Springs will look to get back to a .500 record when they play Sapulpa (2-2, 1-1) Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. in district action.
