MORRIS - The Henryetta Lady Knight slowpitch softball team earned a split decision here last Thursday evening. The Lady Knights dropped their opening contest last Thursday in Morris to the
MORRIS - The Henryetta Lady Knight slowpitch softball team earned a split decision here last Thursday evening.
The Lady Knights dropped their opening contest last Thursday in Morris to the Tecumseh Lady Savages (6A No.
17) by a 9-6 margin in a contest that ended with a walkoff Grand Slam home run by the Lady Savages with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
The Henryetta ladies rebounded from the heartbreaking loss by blanking their arch rivals, the host Morris Lady Eagles, 13-0 in the nightcap, extending the Lady Eagles' losing streak to eight games.
The Lady Knights (14-6) were back in action Monday evening with a home battle with the Vian Lady Wolverines and will be back on the softball field this Thursday, as the Henryetta squad opens play at the annual Dewar Invitational Slowpitch Softball Tournament. The Lady Knights will begin tournament action Thursday at 12:30 p.m. against the Depew Lady Hornets. A win over Depew will put the HHS squad into a winner's bracket game Thursday at 6:45 p.m. against the winner of Kiefer and Crowder. A loss to Depew will drop the Lady Knights into the loser's side of the tournament bracket Friday at 10 a.m. against the loser of Kiefer and Crowder.
In last Thursday's showdown with Tecumseh, the Lady Knights got the scoring started with three runs in the top of the second.
After Tecumseh tallied a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to make it a 3-2 contest, both teams plated two runs in their half of the third to keep Henryetta in front by one, 5-4, after three innings of action.
The Lady Knights extended their lead to 6-4 with a run in the top of the sixth, while Tecumseh answered with a run in the home half of the inning to send the game to the final inning of regulation with Henryetta clinging to a 1-run advantage, 6-5.
After the Henryetta offense failed to add to its lead in the top of the seventh, the Lady Knights appeared on their way to a narrow 6-5 victory, recording a pair of groundouts to begin the bottom of the seventh.
The Lady Savages loaded the bases on bookend singles and a walk. The No. 4 hitter in the Tecumseh lineup blasted a 2-0 pitch over the left field wall for the game-winning Grand Slam home run and handed Henryetta the heartbreaking 9-6 defeat.
The top hitter for Henryetta was Avery Miller, who went 2 for 3 with a pair of home runs. Miller's first roundtripper came on a 2-run shot in the third. The freshman added a solo blast in the sixth to complete her 2-home run game.
Other Lady Knight batters with two hits in the contest were Lauren Lee (2 for 3, 2 singles), Mattie Blackbear (2 for 3, 2 singles), and Autumn Blackbear (2 for 3, single, double).
The final two Henryetta base hits against Tecumseh came on singles by Kasedi Gobin and Hulleah Wincle.
Other baserunners for the Lady Knights in the loss were Wincle (fielder's choice), Katelyn Dwiggins (walk), and Lexi Lollis (error).
In the county battle with Morris, the Lady Knights plated runs in all four innings of action. The Henryetta ladies tallied two runs in each of the first two innings for a 4-0 advantage, then added five in the third and four in the fourth to complete their 13-0 victory.
Avery Miller led the offensive attack against Morris, going 3 for 3 with a pair of singles, a home run, and 4 RBIs. Miller's home run came on a 2-run blast in the third.
Other Henryetta batters with multi-hit games against Morris were Kasedi Gobin (2 for 3, 2 singles), Jalynn Joslin (2 for 3, 2 doubles), Mattie Blackbear (2 for 3, single, double, 2 RBIs), and Kaylie Hamric (2 for 2, single, double, 3 RBIs) with two hits apiece.
The remaining six hits came on singles by Lauren Lee, Lexi Lollis, Katelyn Dwiggins, and Hulleah Wincle and RBI singles by Autumn Blackbear and Emily Smith.
Other Henryetta baserunners against Morris were Lee and Dwiggins on walks and Mattie Blackbear on a fielder's choice.