Softball playoff season began last week with solid district and regional tournament triumphs for both Caddo and Calera.
Caddo, ranked second in Class A, opened its quest for a fifth straight state crown with a dominant district sweep of Clayton/Moyers, 18-0 and 18-4.
Calera, meanwhile, had a little tougher battle but took care of business in its regional event, dropping Stratford by 6-5 and 9-4 counts.
Each team will be back in action this week looking to take its final step to next week’s state tournament.
Caddo Softball
The Lady Bruins got off to a fast start in the opening 18-0 blistering, plating 11 runs in the first inning and never looked back from there.
Brylee Daniel blasted a two-run homer with Presley Beck and Kayden Cowan contributing doubles during the initial uprising.
They finished it off with seven more tallies in the second frame keyed by a Beck two-run double and inside-the-park home run from Cowan that scored three runs.
The pitching duo of Daniel and Peyton Worsham combined for a two-hit shutout in the three-inning affair, striking out four and walking none.
Cowan pounded out three hits and drove in four with Daniel and Beck adding two hits and three RBI apiece. Worsham, Gage Vaughn and Josi Herrington had one hit each.
In the nightcap, Caddo roared out to an 8-0 edge through one stanza as they cashed in eight walks and notched hits by Beck, Cowan and Brilee Tyson.
A 10-run second frame put it completely out of reach spurred by a Kiersyn Powell double and singles from Busby, Powell and Worsham.
Harlee Taylor, Worsham and Cowan combined in the pitching circle to yield four runs on three hits over three stanzas.
Powell had two hits while Beck chipped in one hit and four RBI with Busby adding one hit and three batted in.
Calera Softball
Late offensive surges fueled the Lady Bulldog scoring in pulling past Stratford in both regional contests while advancing to the super regional round.
Calera trailed 5-3 going to the bottom of the seventh in game one but found some Bulldog magic in its final at bat for the win.
Taryn Niblett and Auhnesty Maytubby started the rally with singles ahead of a sacrifice bunt and pop up. Tori Allmon kept things alive with a two-out single that loaded the bases and Jaedyn Umsted followed with an RBI hit as the tying and winning runs scored on a fielding error.
Maytubby fired the first five innings with Payton Thornton tossing the last two as they combined to scatter 11 hits, struck out two and walked a pair.
The Lady Bulldogs tallied 12 hits with Umsted, Maytubby, Owens and Allmon all posting two. Umsted also drove in three runs.
Calera trailed 3-2 through three frames of game two before claiming the lead for good with a three-run outburst in the fourth. Kaira Beller’s double was the key blow sandwiched around singles from Chanah Palmer, Owens and Allmon.
They tacked on another four runs in the seventh for plenty of breathing room, picking up run-scoring hits from Niblett, Maytubby and Owens and a double by Aaliyah Wesley.
Maytubby tossed all seven innings for the pitching win, allowing 11 hits with a pair of strikeouts. Maytubby also was credited with three hits along with two apiece by Owens and Allmon.
