COLONY — Marmaton Valley High’s Wildcats withstood a ferocious Crest High comeback attempt on the softball diamond Thursday.
Marmaton Valley led 9-2 after 4½ innings, only to see Crest score three times in the fifth, twice more in the sixth and put the tying runs on second and third in the seventh and final inning.
Marmaton Valley pitcher Kayla Ard slammed the door from there, however, striking out the final three Crest batters of the game as the Wildcats prevailed, 9-7.
“It was a battle, the whole darned time,” Marmaton Valley head coach Brenda Miller said. “It could have gone either way.”
Crest head coach Casey Cook agreed. “It was a tough one to lose.”
There was no such drama in the second game of their doubleheader, with Marmaton Valley cruising to a 14-5 romp.
In Game 1, Marmaton Valley had the early advantage. The first five Wildcats reached base as MV raced to a 4-0 lead.
Aly Ard and Kayla Ard ripped back-to-back doubles in the second for a 5-1 lead. The lead was 6-2 when the Wildcats put together five hits in the fifth for their final three runs.
Crest had an answer.
Aubree Holloran and Lindsey Godderz singled before Kayla Hermreck swatted a three-run home run to cut the deficit to 9-5. Kaylee Allen and Holloran each singled and scored on Hermreck’s two-run triple to make it 9-7.
Kayla Ard induced a ground ball to end the inning without further damage after Allyssa Adams doubled and Anna Hermreck singled.
Aly Ard had two doubles and a single. Kayla Ard singled and doubled. Payton Scharff notched a pair of singles. Tayven Sutton singled twice and doubled. Bailey LaRue registered a double. Brooklyn Adams singled twice. Gracie Yoho had a single and double.
Holloran had three singles for Crest. Godderz singled twice. Kayla Hermreck had a single and double. Sydne Stephens notched a single. Allyssa Adams had two doubles; Anna Hermreck two singles. McKenna Hammond doubled, while Lili Blaufuss and Allen each had a single.
THE WILDCATS led 5-4 in the nightcap before erupting for five in the fifth and four in the seventh.
Aly Ard went 5-for-5 with a pair of doubles. Kayla Ard singled. Payton Scharff had a pair of singles. Sutton singled and doubled. LaRue added a single. Brooklyn Adams doubled. Roslyn Houk had a single.
Holloran tripled for Crest, while Godderz singled twice. Kayla Hermreck had three singles, while Stephens singled once. Anna Hermreck had a pair of singles and a double. Lonna Ayers had a triple. Hammond singled.
“We’re just a young team,” Cook said, one that occasionally lacks confidence. “They just get down on themselves.”
