The Preston and Henryetta varsity slowpitch softball programs met Monday at the Jim Waller Sports Complex in Preston for an Okmulgee County doubleheader showdown.
The Preston and Henryetta varsity slowpitch softball programs met Monday at the Jim Waller Sports Complex in Preston for an Okmulgee County doubleheader showdown.
The host Lady Pirates came out of the county battle with a pair of victories, including winning the opening contest by a 7-4 margin on a walkoff 3-run home run.
The Preston squad completed the twinbill sweep with a 15-6 decision in the nightcap.
In Monday’s opening contest, the Lady Knights began the scoring with a pair of runs in the top of the first then added a run in their half of the second for a 3-0 advantage.
The Henryetta lead remained at three until the top of the fifth when the visitors plated a run to extend their margin to 4-0.
The host Lady Pirates broke up the shutout bid in the bottom of the fifth, pushing across three runs in the frame to make it a 4-3 contest after five innings of action.
The score remained 4-3 until the bottom of the seventh when the Preston squad tallied four runs in their final at-bat of regulation to walk away with the 7-4 decision.
The opening contest ended with one out in the bottom of the seventh on a walkoff 3-run home run by Jadyn Roberts.
Celeste Pineda led the offensive attack for Preston with a 3-for-4 performance with all three hits coming on singles.
Jaiden Harley (2 for 3, 2 singles, RBI) and Josie Cope (2 for 3, single, home run, RBI) also recorded multi-hit games for the Lady Pirates in the walkoff win with two hits apiece with Cope’s home run coming on a solo blast in the fifth.
Besides Roberts’ game-winning 3-run home run in the seventh, the other Preston base hits in Game 1 came on singles by Taylan Starr, Kristen Houlby, and McKenna Jones. Houlby began the 4-run seventh with a game-tying RBI sacrifice fly.
The Lady Knights were led offensively by Ailanee Hicks, who went 2 for 3 with a pair of home runs and 2 RBIs. Hicks blasted a solo home run in the first, then added a solo home run in the fifth.
McKayla Greenhaw (2 for 3, 2 doubles) and Chloe Swearingen (2 for 3, 2 singles) also finished with multi-hit games for Henryetta in Game 1 with two hits each.
The other Lady Knight base hits in Monday’s opening contest came on singles by Winter Beaver, Kinley Miller, and Graci Lollis and an RBI single by Shelby Kilhoffer.
In Monday’s second contest, the Lady Knights got the scoring started with a run in the top of the first.
The host Lady Pirates answered with six runs in the home half of the frame for a 6-1 advantage after one inning of action, then added a run in the second and three in the third for a 10-1 margin.
Henryetta tallied three runs in its half of the fourth and two in the fifth to make it a 10-6 contest after four and one-half innings of action.
The Preston ladies pushed their lead to 15-6 with five runs in the bottom of the fifth then neither team managed any runs in the next inning and one-half of action to award the host Lady Pirates the 15-6 victory.
The top hitter for Preston in the nightcap was Celeste Pineda, who went 3 for 5 with two singles, a double, and 2 RBIs.
Taylan Starr (2 for 5, 2 singles, RBI), Jadyn Roberts (2 for 4, single, double, 4 RBIs), and Emilie Stidman (2 for 4, single, double, 2 RBIs) also tallied multi-hit games for the Lady Pirates in the second contest with two hits apiece.
The remaining base hits for the Preston squad in Game 2 came on singles by Karris Tecumseh, Kristen Houlby, and Kinlee Basquez, a solo home run in the fifth by Josie Cope, and a 2-run home run in the fifth by Na’Braijhanae Phillips. Ailanee Hicks once again led the Lady Knight offensive attack, going 2 for 2 with a pair of home runs and 3 RBIs. Hicks blasted a solo home run in the first then added a 2-run roundtripper in the fifth.
Kassidy Lee also recorded a multi-hit game for Henryetta in the nightcap, going 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles.
The other Lady Knight base hits in Game 2 came on singles by Winter Beaver and Rachel Burden, a double by McKayla Greenhaw, an RBI single by Haley Lewis, and a 2-run double by Kinley Miller.
--- Preston 7, Henryetta 4
Henryetta:2-1-0-0-1-0-0 4 - 10 - 1 Preston: 0-0-0-0-3-0-4 7 - 11 - 1 One out when winning run scored WP: Josie Cope LP: Ailanee Hicks HR: Henryetta: Ailanee Hicks (2); Preston: Josie Cope, Jadyn Roberts -Preston 15, Henryetta 6 Henryetta:1-0-0-3-2-0-0 6-9-6 Preston: 6-1-3-0-5-0-x 15 - 14 - 0 WP: Josie Cope LP: Ailanee Hicks HR: Henryetta: Ailanee Hicks (2); Preston: Josie Cope, Na’Braijhanae Phillips