Despite a loss to powerhouse Caddo earlier in the week, the Durant Lady Lion softball team wrapped up the regular season with a split of games against Class 6A opponents in the Bixby Festival last Friday.
Coach Jimmie Wyrick’s club fell to Caddo, 12-4, but rebounded for a wild 10-9 triumph over Sand Springs. In the finale, the Lady Lions dropped an 11-4 decision to Bixby.
Durant will be on the road for the Class 5A regional this week at Pryor in quest of extending its string of state tournament appearances to 11.
In the Caddo tilt, the Lady Lions plated a run in the first inning after a Raelynn Clark leadoff double to take a brief lead before the defending state champs scored five straight runs to take command.
Durant tallied single runs in the third, fourth and fifth stanzas and tied the Lady Bruins with eight hits but couldn’t overcome seven errors which led to eight unearned runs.
Clark and Emma Sherrer finished the game with two hits apiece.
Facing Sand Springs, the Lady Lions scored six times in the top of the final stanza to break a 4-4 deadlock and appeared well on its way to a comfortable victory.
Addi Pratt doubled home the go-ahead tally before Sherrer, Kenzee Petty, Korbyn Robinson, Brynn Ritenour and Anslee Morse strung together five straight hits.
Things got dicey in the bottom of the frame with the Lady Sandites pushing across five runs before Sherrer came on in relief for the final two outs and the save. Pratt notched the pitching win, scattering eight hits and allowed nine runs (only three of which were earned). Lylith Harris smacked a pair of doubles and drove in two as part of the Durant 10hit offensive attack. Sherrer also posted a pair of hits and two RBI. Pratt, Robinson, Ritenour and Morse chipped in one hit as well as one batted in each.
Durant ran into a buzz saw from the start against Bixby as the hosts poured across five runs in the opening stanza on the way to the victory.
The Lady Lions broke the shutout with two runs in the fourth as Pratt sandwiched a single in between a pair of free passes. Two more tallies in the fifth were aided by hits from Morse, Clark and Harris.
