Published: October 02, 2008 11:27 am         

Freshman Dewberry dazzling in McAlester's win over Ada

Ada — The Ada Lady Cougar softball team got a sneak peak of its toughest regional tournament foe when the rival McAlester Lady Buffs came to town Tuesday night.

They hope it’s not a sign of things to come.

McAlester freshman hurler Taylor Dewberry mowed through the Ada lineup, striking out 17 in a spectacular two-hit shutout as the visitors defeated the Lady Cougars 6-0. The Lady Buffs, ranked No. 6 in Class 5A, improved to 23-6 on the year while Ada slipped to 10-20.

“She pitched well. She had a good rise ball and we hadn’t seen much of that this year,” said Ada head coach Scott Simpson.

How good was Dewberry? She struck out the first eight hitters (thanks in part to a overpowering fastball) she faced until Ada nine-hole hitter Deede Thompson finally hit a ground ball to third base. She struck out five more before Shelbey Franz bunted the ball back to the circle. Dewberry scooped it up and fired to first to erase Franz in a play so close Ada coaches debated the play for a few seconds.

By that time McAlester had already put all six of its runs on the board.

The Lady Buffs first run came in the top of the second when Tylynn Sliger doubled, was moved to third on a sac bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly by Shay Griffin.

McAlester led off the fourth with three consecutive base hits, including an RBI single by Sliger. Griffin later poked a two-run single through the right side to give the Lady Buffs a 4-0 advantage.

Rachael Bernhart led off the fifth with a line drive to right field that got past Thompson and rolled to the fence in foul territory. Bernhart sped all the way around the basepaths and scored well ahead of a throw for an inside-the-park home run. Rayna Smith drove home McAlester’s final run later in the inning with an RBI hit.

Four consecutive Ada players bunted in the bottom of the sixth — with Blakely Franz and Taryn Jack credited with base hits — as the Lady Cougars broke up Dewberry’s no-hitter and threatened to spoil her shutout.

Destiny Smith’s bunt turned into a sacrfice while Thompson reached on an error by Dewberry, about her only mistake of the game. But the talented youngster struck out the next two hitters — including Hanna Huling who tried to continue Ada’s consecutive bunt streak but fouled off her first two attempts — to leave the bases full of Lady Cougars and finished the game with two more strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh.

Ada will host Durant tonight at 5 p.m. with a Senior Night ceremony part of the activities. It will be Ada’s final regular season contest.

Next week’s regional tournament pairing are expected to be released by McAlester officials in the next few days. McAlester head coach Jackie Cumbie hinted that the regional would likely begin next Wednesday.

     

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