Published: October 09, 2008 12:50 pm      

Ada softball team splits

Simpson's club needs three wins today at 5A Regional

McAlester — Ada head softball coach Scott Simpson has seen this before, unfortunately.

The Lady Cougars kept pace throughout the contest before No. 13 Tahlequah tripped Ada 5-3 in the first round of the Class 5A Regional Tournament Wednesday afternoon at McAlester’s Bud Hales Sports Complex.

“That was like a couple of games we’ve had this year. We lost some tough, close games against some pretty decent teams and that was another one right there,” Simpson said.

The Lady Cougars were — like they had been so many times before in many of their 21 losses — a key play here and there away from advancing through the winner’s bracket. Ada did bounce back to defeat Tulsa Edison 7-3 in a lackluster, marathon elimination game, earning a rematch with the Lady Tigers, who dropped a 3-1 decision to host McAlester in the late winner’s bracket contest. The sixth-ranked Lady Buffs started the tournament with a convincing 19-0 win over Tulsa Edison.

Ada (11-22) and Tahlequah (21-10) will square off again today at 1:30 p.m. with the winner needed to defeat the Lady Buffs twice to advance to next week’s state tournament.

“We get to play another day. You have to win to keep playing. One of our goals was to be playing on Thursday,” Simpson said. “We have to beat someone twice (today) to keep playing and we know we have to play better.”

Ada 7, Tulsa Edison 3

Loser’s Bracket

After Ada scored four times in the top of the third to erase a 1-0 deficit, the game was really never in doubt. But the Lady Cougars also failed to put the Lady Eagles away. And boy did they have plenty of chances. Ada stranded a whopping 13 base runners in the game.

“We didn’t hit the ball real good against Tulsa Edison,” Simpson said. “We really should have scored more runs.”

Ada’s big third inning featured just one hit, but it was a big one — a two-RBI single by Taryn Jack that put her team on top for good. The Lady Cougars were aided by three Edison errors in the frame.

The locals added another run in the top of the fifth when pinch-hitter Nikita Parnacher led off with a single to left field, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Lindsey Elliott and scored on an RBI double to the left-center wall by Hanna Huling.

The Lady Cougars pushed across two more insurance runs in the top of the sixth — again without a hit. Jack walked, stole second and third and raced home on a passed ball and Parnacher was hit by a pitch, stole second, went to third on an error and scurried home on a wild pitch.

Huling reached base five times to pace the Ada offense. She finished 3-for-3 with two single, a double, a walk and was hit by a pitch. Jack scored two runs, and walked twice to go with her two-run single while Shelbey Franz also walked twice and was beaned. Parnacher also scored two runs off the bench.

Jenna Huling scattered six hits and struck out six to earn the mound win for Ada.

Brooke Garner went 2-for-2 with a double to pace the Lady Eagles.

Tahlequah 5, Ada 3

Five of the eight runs in the game were scored in the first two innings.

Tahlequah got things started in the top of the first when standout Erica Sampson doubled, went to third on a sac bunt and scored on a fielder’s choice by Ashley Boswell.

But the Lady Cougars quickly erased the 1-0 deficit with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first.

Hanna Huling hit a one-out single and was sacrificed to second by Jack. Hanna Huling scored when sister Jenna Huling reached on an error to tie the game. After Jenna stole second, she motored home on a two-out RBI single by Deede Thompson that put Ada on top 2-1.

After Hanna Huling recorded the first two outs of the second on seven pitches, Paige Crow and Shelby Sanders came up with back-to-back, two-strike base hits. Sampson made Ada pay with her second double to center in as many at-bats to put Tahlequah back in front 3-2.

Ada missed a golden opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth when speedster Destiny Smith reached on a two-base error. She raced to third on a wild pitch before Shelbey Franz hit a lazy fly ball to medium center field. But Smith didn’t tag up on the play and stayed at third and was later caught in a rundown trying to score on a bunt by Blakely Franz.

Jenna Reed doubled to start the Tahlequah half of the fifth and would later score on an RBI groundout by Whittney Whittmore to give the Lady Tigers a 4-2 edge.

Boswell’s sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth pushed across the final Tahlequah run and made it 5-2.

Ada looked like it was back in business in the bottom of the sixth. Thompson was hit to lead off the frame and Smith followed with a single to center. But the ball squirted by Reed in center field, allowing Thompson to score all the way from first. But Smith was thrown out trying to advance to third for the first out of the inning.

Ada threatened again in the bottom of the seventh when Elliott single to right to lead things off. Jack then hit a dying line drive to right field that looked like it would drop in for a one-out base hit. But right fielder Shelby Sanders made a nice, diving catch and easily doubled Elliott off first to end the game.

“We just came up a little bit short. We had some mental errors on the bases that probably cost us a run or two. We have to learn to pull those type of games out,” Simpson said. “We know we can beat teams like that. We just have to step it up at the plate and play smart.”

Ada had seven hits in the game, all by different players.

Sampson, Jessie Patrick and Crow all had two hits apiece for the Lady Tigers.