The Class 3A #2 Tushka Lady Tigers (238) are headed back to the slow pitch state tournament for the 14th consecutive time. On Wednesday, May 7, Tushka will play in the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association Class 3A State Tournament at Firelake Ball Park in Shawnee. At press-time, the Class 3A bracket had not been announced.
Tushka advanced to the state tournament after winning a Class 3A Regional Tournament Championship on April 29. The Lady Tigers defeated Drumright in the first round 13-0 in 4 innings and defeated Apache 4-2 in the championship game.
Against Drumright, Tushka got off to a fast start as they had five consecutive hits to start the game which was capped off by Kylie Lee triple that put the Lady Tigers ahead 4-0. In the third inning, 4 of the Lady Tigers 7 hits were doubled which helped push the lead to 12-0. Senior pitcher Beya Simon allowed two hits and zero base on balls in the game. Simon was 1 of 6 players to record at least 2 hits in the game. Senior lead off Chanci Alford led the team in hits with 3.
“She (Simon) does a really good job pitching for us. We know she will compete everyday and won’t let the moment bother her,” Tushka Head Coach Logan Brown said.
In the championship game, the Apache Warriors started the top of the first inning scoring two runs. The Lady Tigers were unable to get a base runner on base for the first two innings. Senior Emma Burkhalter started the third inning by drawing a walk, which was followed by a Simon single. Reegan Reece then hit the ball that created a ground ball double play, with Burkhalter advancing to third base. A ground out by Kaylee Upchurch got the Lady Warriors out of the inning up 2-0.
To start the fifth inning, Kyra Jones hit a single and Simon hit a single later in the inning with one out to put runners on first and second with one out, Rilee Lewis came in as a courtesy runner for Simon. Emma Barton came in as a pinch hitter, she hit into a fielder’s choice that recorded as out at second.
After Lewis was out at second, the Lady Warriors threw to first base for the double play but committed an error that scored Jones and allowed Barton to advance to second base. Then, the Lady Tigers had the next five batters reach base to give Tushka a 4-2 lead after 5. With one more chance for the Lady Warriors, the Tushka defense caused a three up, three down inning with three ground balls to win the regional championship.
After going 4-5 during a stretch in mid April, Tushka has won 6 in a row. Brown stated that the team hit a rough batch hitting the ball but the athletes kept working and he hopes the momentum keeps going in the right direction for the state tournament.
“We have some really talented girls that have the experience of playing at the state tournament,” Brown said.
