Westmoore edges Owasso Deer Creek survives Stillwater Title games moved to Friday
SHAWNEE — Westmoore junior pitcher Hannah Harrison was never rattled.
Sure, she allowed three first-inning runs to a powerful Owasso offense and with two outs in the seventh, the Rams loaded the bases. But Harrison never worried. She knew her teammates had her back.
And they did in a 5-3 victory to open the Class 6A state tournament Thursday afternoon at The Ball Fields at Firelake.
“I was a little nervous,” Harrison said. “I knew my team had my back and I could just go out and do me. I had fun with it. They were there for me, so I wanted to be there for them.”
Westmoore responded to the early deficit with four runs of its own to give control back to Harrison. She was nearly out of the game without trouble, too. But an error and two singles loaded the bases. Harrison got Maddy Tadrus to fly out to end the game.
Not bad for the left-hander in her first state tournament start.
“She held her own out there,” Westmoore coach
Jenny Rollins said.
After a sub-par day in the circle, Deer Creek pitcher Caitlyn Wells delivered in another way. She used her body to drive in the winning run.
Wells was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh to propel the Antlers to a wild 6-5 victory over Stillwater.
“Emily Hott said it was going to be inside on second and I love the inside pitch,” Wells said. “I knew this was going to be a good thing. Just any way to win.”
Wells allowed three runs on seven hits in three innings as Stillwater took a 3-0 lead.
Terin Ritz came in for relief in a 3-3 game, but also immediately allowed two runs.
Wells got her second chance, though.
“I told her there’s nobody I’d rather have up in this moment,” Deer Creek coach
Lacy Darity said. “I had all of the confidence that she would find a way. She did.”
That erased a huge day by Stillwaters’ Julia Cottrill. The Florida commitment doubled and hit a three-run homer.
Another rainy forecast for Saturday forced the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association to make the softball state tournaments a two-day event.
All three championship games will be played Friday following semifinal action at Shawnee’s The Ball Fields at Firelake, just like last week’s small-school tournaments.
Class 6A will be the final game Friday at 6:30 p.m. following 1:30 p.m. semifinals. Both Class 5A and Class 4A will play at 4 p.m. after both classes play semifinals at 11 a.m.
Extra bases
Newcastle pitcher McKenzie Wagoner struck out 12 and allowed just four hits in a 1-0 victory over Grove to open the Class 4A tournament. … Tuttle’s Kinsey Koeltzow and
Kady Fryrear each hit two-run homers in a 10-0 five-inning win over Weatherford. … Carl Albert’s Zadie LaValley homered and drove in four runs during a 12-1 fiveinning win over Woodward.