The Preston Lady Pirate varsity fastpitch softball team brought their regular-season schedule to a close Tuesday evening in Eufaula.
The Preston Lady Pirate varsity fastpitch softball team brought their regular-season schedule to a close Tuesday evening in Eufaula.
The Lady Pirates, who began postseason play Thursday in the Class 2A Region 5 regional tournament in Silo, dropped their final regular-season game by a 5-4 margin to the host Eufaula Lady Ironheads.
Preston began reigonal tournament play 2 p.m. Thursday against the Oktaha Lady Tigers. A win over Oktaha on Thursday would have put the Lady Pirates in Thursday’s regional winner’s bracket finals at 6 p.m. against the winner of the other opening- round game between Nowata and the host Silo Lady Rebels. A loss to Oktaha on Thursday would have dropped the Preston diamond squad into an elimination contest at 4 p.m.
In Tuesday’s regular-season finale at Eufaula, the Lady Pirates broke a scoreless tie with a run in the top of the third for a 1-0 advantage.
After Eufaula knotted the score at 1-1 with a run in the home half of the fourth, the Preston squad went back in front by a 2-1 margin with a run in the top of the fifth.
The Lady Pirates’ narrow lead turned into a 3-run deficit, 5-2, with a 4-run fifth for the host Lady Ironheads.
After a scoreless sixth sent the contest into the final inning of regulation with Preston still trailing by three, 5-2, the Lady Pirates cut the Eufaula lead to one, 5-4, with a 2-run single by Na’Braijhanae Phillips with two outs in the top of the seventh.
The Preston squad was unable to complete the comeback attempt as the next Lady Pirate hitter grounded out to the first baseman to end the contest with Preston on the losing end of a 5-4 decision.
The Lady Pirates scattered nine hits in the regular-season finale, led by senior standout Jadyn Roberts, who finished 3 for 4 with a pair of singles, triple, and RBI.
Kinlee Basquez joined Roberts in the multi-game column for Preston with a 2-for-3 performance with both hits coming on singles.
Besides Phillips’ 2-run single in the seventh, the other Preston base hits against Eufaula came on singles by Taylan Starr, McKenna Jones, and Celeste Pineda. Jones also drew a walk in the narrow setback for the Lady Pirates.
Emilie Stidman was the only other baserunner for the Preston diamond squad on Tuesday, drawing a pair of walks.
Starr drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth with an RBI sacrifice fly. -Eufaula 5, Preston 4 Preston-0-0-1-0-1-0-2 4-9-0 Eufaula-0-0-0-1-4-0-x 5-9-0 WP: Avery Williams LP: Josie Cope HR: None
