PITTSBURG — Marmaton Valley’s softball season came to an end Thursday afternoon against St. Mary’s-Colgan.
The Panthers defeated the Wildcats 12-2 to advance in the regional tournament. From there the Panthers went on to win the tournament and punch their ticket to the state tournament.
Maramaton Valley fought hard and tied the game at 2 apiece in the fourth inning when sophomore Isabelle Bigelow drew a bases-loaded walk to plate Paige Becker.
The Panthers quickly responded with two runs in the fifth inning off of Wildcat freshman pitcher Karlie Stephens to take the lead for good.
Colgan piled on the Wildcats late in the game with three runs in the sixth inning and five more in the seventh to win the game.
Stephens pitched a complete game. She allowed eight earned-runs on 12 hits and struck out seven Panther batters.
Marmaton Valley had eight hits in the game with seven different batters collecting at least one hit. Sophomore Shayla Brooks led the team with a pair of base hits.
Shayla’s twin sister Makayla Brooks had the team’s only extra-base hit with an RBI double in the second inning.
The good news for the Wildcats is that every player who started on Thursday will be eligible to play next season. Eight of their nine starters were freshmen and sophomores. Kyla Drake was the only junior starter.
The future is still bright in Moran despite the loss.
