The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (9-1) started its season on the best undefeated run in many years, but after beating Lincoln Christian 11-1 in the first game of the Rogers State University festival, they fell 5-4 to Coweta in an international tiebreaker Thursday afternoon.
Against Lincoln Christian (2-7) they needed only four innings to secure the win. Nataley Crawford (3-0, 6-2) got the start and win in the pitcher’s circle, throwing four hits, four strikeouts, and two walks in three innings. Raegan Rector made her season pitching debut with two strikeouts in relief.
The girls wasted no time in jumping out to a commanding lead, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning. Madison Lee capitalized on a walk with two stolen bases and scored the first run on an error. Rector and Jaden Jordan also drew walks and came in on a double from Aliyah Taff, who went on to score on a wild pitch. Drew Hawkins singled, Lauren Hammock walked, and Nately Crawford brought them both in on a single before the inning came to a close.
The Bulldogs put two runners on base in the second, but both were stranded after Crawford struck out the next three batters. Rector hit a double in the bottom of the inning, then scored on a triple from Taff. Taff scored on an error to make it 8-0.
Adyson Roberts hit a single in the third, took third on a double from Mackenzie Kelley, then stole home to avert the shutout, but Sand Springs went right back to scoring in the bottom of the inning. Lee scored on a single from Avery Tanner, who came in on a passed ball to make it 10-1. Lee finished the game off with an RBI single to score Lauren Hammock and the game ended mid-inning.
Roberts got the loss for the Bulldogs, throwing eight hits, four strikeouts, and eight walks in 3.1 innings.
The loss to Coweta was nearly a come-from-behind victory as the girls scored three runs in the top of the seventh for a 4-3 advantage. The Tigers forced extra innings, however, and won it in an international tiebreaker.
Lee and Jordan hit a pair of doubles in the top of the first for the 1-0 lead, but Kayley Lott doubled in Chaney Helton to tie it. The Sandites stranded seven runners over the next four innings and Coweta took the lead in the bottom of the fifth with three singles and a pair of runs from Helton and Sherri Mason.
Lee kicked off a Sandite rally in the seventh with a single, then Tanner hit a double to put the team in scoring position. Rector hit a two-run double, then scored on a single from Jordan for the lead. Coweta wouldn’t go down without a fight, however, and put together four singles with a run from Karley Mcnamee to force an extra inning.
In the tiebreaker inning, both teams started their at-bats with a runner on second. The Sandites failed to land a hit and left Kelsi Hilton stranded on third, while Holcomb tagged up on a line out from Denton to secure the win.
Taff (6-1, 23-15) took her first loss of the season with twelve hits, no walks, and seven strikeouts. Braedyn Sheofee got the win with ten hits, two walks, and two strikeouts.
Sandite softball will look to kick off a new win streak Friday at 10:00 a.m. when they play Stillwater (6-2) in the first round of the Stillwater Festival. They will also play Deer Creek (4-2) at 12:00 p.m.
