Lady Knights faced tough losses on the road at the NSU and Tahlequah High School Softball Tournament. On the tail end of their season, the Lady Knights struggled to get hits off of Class 4A Fort Gibson and Hilldale.

In round one of the NSU Tournament, the Lady Knights fell in a close 1-0 battle to the Fort Gibson Lady Tigers. Henryetta’s defense was able to limit the Lady Tigers’ offense in the first two innings. Despite earning seven hits against the Lady Knights, the Lady Tigers only broke through for one run in the bottom of the third.

The Lady Knights struggled to get out of a series of groundouts and strikeouts, leaving the score at 0-0 going into the third inning. The Lady Tigers changed that with a single base hit. Getting a runner on first base, the Lady Tigers advanced her to second on a groundout and eventually to home with an RBI single.

It would mark the only run of the game with the Lady Knights earning one more hit in the top of the sixth inning. Henryetta second baseman Kasedi Gobin hit a base hit out to center field. The Lady Knights would leave her on base with Jay Joslin, who got on base after a hit by pitch, was caught stealing to third base.

Henryetta pitcher Avery Miller was the only other Lady Knight to get a hit off of Fort Gibson’s pitcher. Miller hit a base hit in the top of the first inning but faced a similar outcome as Gobin with a strikeout ending the inning.

The Lady Knights faced another tough loss at the NSU Tournament, going up against the Hilldale Lady Hornets. An early six-run lead for the Lady Hornets set the tone of the game. Letting the game slip away from them in the first two innings, the Lady Knights fought to overturn the Lady Hornets’ advantage.

The Lady Hornets established their lead with two run homer and an RBI single in the first inning, 3-0. A walk sent in a Lady Hornet runner for their fourth run in the bottom of the second, kickstarting another three-run scoring streak.

Having watched their opponents post up for a 6-0 lead, the Lady Knights fought hard to make a comeback in the top of the third inning. A two RBI single from Miller put the Lady Knights on the scoreboard 6-2. Henryetta first baseman Autumn Blackbear and centerfielder Skylar Morris closed in on the Lady Hornets with back-to-back RBI singles, putting the Lady Knights behind their opponents 6-5.

Despite the five-run boost in the third inning, the Lady Knights lost their momentum in the fourth and fifth innings, while the Lady Hornets regained their offensive power. An RBI single and a steal to home plate propelled the Lady Hornets into an 8-5 lead. Though Gobin was able to get on base with a single, three consecutive outs left them short of a comeback. The Lady Knights faced their second loss on the road, falling 8-5 to the Lady Hornets.

OSSAA Class 3A Regional Tournament

The Lady Knights are set to host regionals on Thursday, Oct. 3 and Friday, Oct. 4. Westville, Dewey and Valliant are set to travel to Henryetta to compete for a bid to the State Touranment.

The Lady Knights will open the tournament Thursday at noon going up against Westville (19-11). Dewey and Valliant will battle it out later Thursday to decide who will continue on to play in Game 4 of the Regional Tournament.

The Lady Knights have had an astounding season so far with a season record of 23-6. They defeated county rival the Beggs Lady Demons for the District Championship last week with a 10-0 shutout win.

The winnner of the regional tournament will be decided in Game 6 on Friday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. If necessary, another game will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday to determine a Regional Champion.