Latta finishes fourth at Beast of the East

Apr. 2—STONEWALL — All things considered, Latta's fourth-place finish at the loaded 2024 Beast of the East Tournament isn't too shabby.

During Saturday's schedule, the Lady Panthers dropped a 14-2 decision to eventual champion Washington, knocked off Kiowa 8-6 before Silo — which placed third — defeated Latta 9-1.

Coach Jeremy Bates' squad, ranked 8 in Class 2A, was 8-6 heading into a busy week that included road trips to Prague and Wilson Monday and today and a spot in the always-tough Washington Slow Pitch Tournament that begins on Thursday.

"It was a roller coaster for sure," Bates told The Ada News. "Overall finishing fourth at that tournament is a great achievement with the teams that were in it. We need to carry over this momentum and play more consistently. We play a tough schedule to prepare us for the playoffs, and it doesn't get any easier this week."

At the Washington Tournament, the Lady Panthers will play three pool-play games at Lexington on Day 1. Latta will have a rematch with Class 4A No. 3 Silo at 11:30 a.m.; then battle host Lexington — ranked No. 17 in Class 4A — at 1 p.m. before colliding with Class 6A No. 1 Southmoore at 4 p.m.

Washington, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A, captured the Beast of the East crown with a 16-3 record while Silo left at 11-4.

"It's incredibly loaded. There aren't any easy games in this one," Bates said.

Byng defeated Lindsay 9-6 and Stratford 8-0 in Beast of the East action, before Kiowa knocked the Lady Pirates out of the tournament with a 16-0 victory. Coach Markus Carr's club was 8-2 heading into today's home date with Tushka. The Lady Pirates then head to the 2024 Turnpike Showdown hosted by Roff and Sulphur. Byng is part of the Roff bracket and will battle local foe Stonewall at noon on Thursday. Other teams in the Roff bracket include the host Lady Tigers, Tupelo, Maud, Vanoss and Cyril.

Tupelo split a pair of Saturday Beat of the East contests. The Lady Tigers upended Holdenville 10-3 before Coalgate clipped Tupelo 8-5. Coach Dustin Romines' squad, ranked No. 4 in Class B, was 12-5 heading into a home date with local opponent Vanoss on Monday. The Lady Tigers are at Coleman today.

Washington 14, Latta 2

The talented Washington squad blasted six home runs (out of 10 total hits) in the game. The Lady Warriors scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning and scored six more in the third frame to end the game early.

"Washington showed us why they would eventually win the whole thing on the top field and we couldn't keep up," Bates said.

The Lady Panthers ended up with five hits in the three-inning contest, including doubles by Jaycie Prine and Laraby Jennings. Latta was charged with four errors in the contest.

The Lady Warriors got two home runs from Emjay Lucas, who finished 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Daphne Palumbo, Reese Schrader, Ava Salcedo and Olivia Palumbo also went deep for Washington.

Latta 8, Kiowa 6

Latta trailed 6-5 before scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth to swipe the victory.

"We jumped on Kiowa early but didn't stay on them and they battled back to take the lead," Bates said. "(Jaycie) Prine, (Talise) Parnell and (Laraby) Jennings all came through with big hits to help us take the lead for good."

Lilli Hudson and Jayse Smith started the LHS sixth-inning uprising with back-to-back one-out base hits. Latta then got key two-out hits from Prine, Parnell and Jennings to surge ahead.

Smith led a 16-hit LHS offense by going 3-for-3 with a run scored. Savannah Senkel went 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs and Audrey Forshay finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs.

Hudson ended up 2-for-2 with a double and Prine, Jennings and Parnell also added two hits apiece for the Lady Panthers.

Mollie Bain led Kiowa at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Reagan Dominic finished 3-for-4 and Maccie Bain went 2-for-3 and had a double. The Cowgirls, ranked No. 7 in Class A, fell to 7-8 on the year.

Silo 9, Latta 1

The Latta offense never got untracked against the Lady Rebels. The Lady Panthers were limited to just two base hits — both by Laraby Jennings — in the five-inning contest.

Silo led just 2-1 through four frames but erupted for seven runs in the top of the fifth inning to pull away.

"Our last game against Silo we just lost focus from top to bottom on both sides," Bates said.

Latta scored its lone run in the bottom of the second inning. Jennings led off with a base hit to right field and Savannah Senkel followed with a walk. Jennings scored all with way from second on a Silo error in the outfield to tie the game at 1-1.

Makayla Clark led a 15-hit Silo attack, going 3-for-3 with a run scored. Brooklyn Toney finished 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs for the Lady Rebels and Connie Tubby went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Neely Jo House cracked a double, walked and scored two runs for Silo.

Kiowa 16, Byng 0

Kiowa led 5-0 after three innings before erupting for 11 runs in the top of the fourth to end the game early.

Byng finished with five total hits, led by a 2-for-2 effort from Alona Cooper-Rochovitz. Piper Presley, Hailey Alexander and Stormy Musshafen had the other BHS hits.

Paige Igou led a 17-hit Kiowa offense. She finished 4-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored from the top of the KHS batting order. Morgan Darrell went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.

Mollie Bain, Maccie Bain and Tyler Giaudrone all hit home runs for the Cowgirls.

Byng 9, Lindsay 6

The Lady Pirates jumped out to a 7-0 lead before holding Lindsay off in the five-inning contest.

Alona Cooper-Rochovitz paced Byng at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, four RBIs and a run scored. Leadoff hitter Hannah Word went 3-for-3 and scored twice. Aubrey Pope finished 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and Kinley Sellers ended up 1-for-1 with a double, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored for the Lady Pirates.

Addison Dodson led Lindsay at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Kaylin Taylor and Leslie Wilmot both slapped doubles for the Lady Leopards.

Byng 8, Stratford 0

Byng got off to a quick 4-0 lead after the first inning and never looked back in a game that lasted five frames.

Alona Cooper-Rochovitz finished 3-for-3 with a triple, a double, an RBI and two runs scored in a 15-hit BHS barrage. Piper Presley went 2-for-3 with a double and Mckenzie Alford finished 2-for-2 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored. Leigh Ridgway also had two hits and Paige Ridgway went 1-for-2 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored.

Stormy Musshafen cracked a double for the Byng team.

Tinley Dempsey had two of seven Stratford hits in the contest.

Coalgate 8, Tupelo 5

The Lady Tigers trailed 8-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning before trying to put together a comeback. Tupelo scored four times in the frame — including an RBI triple from Marley Crites and a run-scoring single by Bailey Battles but the rally fell short.

Ava Sliger, Battles and Jaycee Stringer all had two hits each for the Tupelo club. Sliger knocked in two runs and Lainee Wafford went 1-for-2 and scored twice.

Four errors hurt the Lady Tigers.

Taci Lee led a nine-hit Coalgate offense, going 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored. Macy Delozier and Jolie House also drove in runs for the Lady Wildcats — No. 5 in Class 4A. Cire Walker went 1-for-3 and scored twice for Coalgate, which started the week at 15-4 on the year.

Tupelo 10, Holdenville 3

The Lady Tigers led 2-1 early but scored three runs in the top of the third inning and three more in the fourth to get some breathing room against Holdenville (9-7).

Rebecca Dailey paced a 14-hit Tupelo offense. She went 3-for-3 with a run scored. Jaycee Stringer finished 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored and Bailey Battles also had two hits. Macy Gaylor and Marley Crites knocked in two runs apiece for the Lady Tigers. Gaylor slapped a double.

Ava Sliger finished 1-for-1 with three walks and a run scored.

Mady Belle McFarland led Holdenville at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored. Kendell Mask also had a pair of hits for the Lady Wolverines and Cylee Null cracked a double.