With the start of the 2010-2011 school year quickly approaching, the Cushing High School lady tigers softball team coached by head coach Chad Short and assisted by Charles Copeland and Lonnie Schuler, opened their season by hosting and winning a 22 team tournament the 12-14 of August at the Cushing Sports Complex. The tourney was played in a “pod format”. All teams played “seeding” games thru pod play Thursday and Friday with Saturday’s games being elimination games. Despite the blistering heat of the August sun, the play of the lady soft ballers was just as hot. Cushing won their side of pod play early Saturday afternoon, then, had to wait it out to see who they would draw in the championship game.
Cushing matched up in the championship game with very determined feisty team of longhorns from Inola High School with a 5:30 P.M. start. Megan Carrier handled the pitching duties for Cushing, the longhorns struck first with their leadoff batter starting the game with a standup double, then moving to 3rd on a fielder’s choice and scoring on a single by the Inola shortstop Andrews before Carrier shut down the longhorn offense. Cushing drew a blank in their half of the first to leave the game at 1-0 starting the 2nd. Several tiger miscues allowed Inola to plate 1 run in their half of the 2nd and 3rd, while the lady tigers continued their batting struggles, thru 3 innings of play. Carrier faced the minimum number of batters in the Inola 4th getting a 3 up 3 down inning from her tightening defense. The lady tiger bats roared to life in the bottom of the 4th with Naomi McCoy opening the inning with a gazelle like run to first base beating out an infield hit, the lady tiger bats continued to pound the softball forcing the Inola longhorns into several errors with solid hitting from Carly Deaton, power hitting from Marci Wiley and Whitney Linder and sneak bunts by Jordan Baugus and Michelle Hubbard all scoring runs, when the dust had settled, Cushing had a 6-3 lead going into the 5th. With her tiger team giving her a comfortable lead, Carrier found another gear pitching and with Hosanna McCoy locking up with Lizzie Kennedy, Hubbard, Baugus, and Wiley protecting the plate, no softballs left the tiger infield to shutout the Inola Longhorns – the final 3 innings to take the tourney championship with a final score of 6-3.
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