Published: October 10, 2008 04:19 pm         

Ada girls edged by Tahlequah at 5A Regional

McAlester — Tahlequah needed a two-out, two RBI double by Katie Bowin in the bottom of the sixth to shake off another Ada upset bid and edge the Lady Cougars 4-2 in 5A Regional Tournament fast-pitch action Thursday afternoon in McAlester.

Both of Ada’s regional losses came to the 13th-ranked Lady Tigers.

Ada had tied the game at 2-2 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth.

A Deede Thompson single got things started for Ada, but after two outs with Lindsey Elliott standing at first after a fielder’s choice, Blakeley Franz kept the inning alive with a bunt single. Nikita Parnacher then laced a two-run double down the third base line that knotted the score. Destiny Smith followed with a base hit of her own, but Parnacher couldn’t score on the play and Ada stranded runners at the corners.

The Lady Cougars played error-free softball and were again ever so close to pulling off the upset.

“We played good. We just couldn’t get any more runs. It was probably the best we've played in a while, especially defensively,” said Ada head coach Scott Simpson. “It was a good ballgame, a good game to watch.”

Elliott absorbed the hard-luck mound loss for Ada, but also drew praise from her head coach.

“Wherever we've put her (defensively), she's done well and pitched one of her best game ever,” Simpson said.

It was the final game of the year for Elliott, Thompson, Shelbey Franz and Rainee Easley.

“We'll miss that experience. You can't teach that and those girls have gotten to play a lot,” Simpson said. “Shelbey had another good game at shorstop today.”

     

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