SLOWPITCH REGIONALS: Stuart, Kiowa punch tickets to state tournament
Apr. 23—The Lady Hornets are OKC bound.
No. 5 Stuart softball took home a regional championship Tuesday, defeating No. 3 Kiowa 16-12 to advance to the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association Class A State Tournament.
The Cowgirls got on the board first in the opening inning, using RBI knocks from Mollie and Maccie Bain and Alison Wolfenbarger to take a 4-0 lead. Stuart answered in the bottom frame, scoring three thanks to the efforts of Jacie Crenshaw, Reagan Wade, and Jayeanna Walling to trim the lead down to one.
Kiowa responded with two more runs in the top of the third inning to extend its lead, but the Lady Hornets answered once more in the bottom half to make it a 6-4 Kiowa lead after three innings.
Both teams battled back and forth at the plate, with the Cowgirls taking a 9-6 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning — but that's when the Lady Hornets struck.
Joey Steele drilled an RBI single to right to slim the deficit down to one, with Miley Davis then using a sacrifice fly to tie up the game. Crenshaw followed with an RBI single up the middle, giving Stuart the lead.
Wade drilled a line drive, resulting in two more runs crossing the plate, and Paris Stanford added a high-flying ball to center that earned another two scores and giving the Lady Hornets the 14-9 lead.
Kiowa cut into the lead in the top of the sixth inning, but Stuart added insurance in the bottom frame to help seal away the win and punch its ticket back to OKC.
Stanford, Davis, and Steele led the way with two RBIs each, with Crenshaw, Keelie Treat, Wade, and Jadee Hall adding one each.
The Bain sisters, Wolfenbarger, Tyler Giaudrone, and Reagan Dominic combined for nine RBIs for the Cowgirls.
Next up for Stuart, the Lady Hornets will compete May 1 in the OSSAA Class A State Slow-Pitch Tournament at the USA Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City.
KIOWA 7, ROFF 1
Kiowa faced Roff Tuesday in the final game of the regional tournament, taking down the Lady Tigers 7-1 to advance to the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association Class A State Tournament.
Dominic got the Cowgirls on the board first with a sacrifice fly in the opening inning, giving Kiowa the 1-0 lead. Later in the fourth inning, Wolfenbarger drilled a line drive to right field to score two more runs.
The Lady Tigers cut into the deficit in the bottom of the fifth inning with a run, but Kiowa punched right back with another RBI single from Wolfenbarger. Ella Roberts later added a fly ball into play, with the Cowgirls plating another two.
Kiowa added another run as insurance courtesy of Bain, with the defense holding off Roff in the bottom frame to seal the win.
Wolfenbarger led the way at the plate with three RBIs, followed by Ella Roberts with two, and Dominic and Bain with one each.
Next up for Kiowa, the Cowgirls will compete May 1 in the OSSAA Class A State Slow-Pitch Tournament at the USA Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City.
Here are the reported scores from slow-pitch softball regional tournament action:
CLASS 2A
WAUKOMIS REGIONAL
G1: Sterling 7, Central High 3
G2: Waukomis 19, Crowder 3
G3: Waukomis 9, Sterling 4 (Waukomis advances to State)
G4: Central High 12, Crowder 11
G5: Sterling 13, Central High 1 (Sterling advances to State)
CLASS A
KIOWA REGIONAL
G1: Kiowa 13, Wapanucka 1
G2: Stuart 11, Roff 2
G3: Stuart 16, Kiowa 12 (Stuart advances to State)
G4: Roff 13, Wapanucka 5
G5: Kiowa 7, Roff 1 (Kiowa advances to State)
CLASS B
CANEY REGIONAL
G1: Caney 12, New Lima 1
G2: Asher 9, Pittsburg 5
G3: Caney 10, Asher 6 (Caney advances to State)
G4: Pittsburg 11, New Lima 3
G5: Asher 11, Pittsburg 1 (Asher advances to State)
This post will be updated as scores are reported.