Lady Knights knock off top-ranked Sequoyah Tuesday

The Lady Knights were told they would have to play hard Tuesday and they did just that. Coach Chris Ray and his girls were facing the toughest teams so far this year and possibly for the rest of the season. The Sequoyah Lady Indians were the top-ranked 5A softball team in the state and the Okemah Lady Panthers were ranked fourth in 4A. No matter, the Lady Knights went in bats swinging and, aided by some well-placed errors and an Alyssa Osterdock home run, came away with a pair of wins. Okemah fell 4-1 and Sequoyah lost its undefeated streak by a 7-3 margin. In the first game with Okemah, both teams went scoreless in the first frame. Mykaela Wallace got on with a two-out single then Ally Flanary got on but a fly out to center field ended that threat.
Okemah's first three batters were out on a throw to first and two fly outs to left field. The second inning saw Henryetta score when Kendal Perez singled then Maddie James got a hit. She would be thrown out at second on a Bailey Powders hit but Perez went to third. Maddie Gouge tried for a single but she was thrown out at first allowing Perez to score. The fourth inning saw Osterdock get a home run. She knocked the first pitch into right field and two Okemah players had a collision resulting in the Henryetta score and a 2-0 lead. Okemah narrowed the gap with a fourth inning, two out run. Two other Lady Panthers were left on base after an Okemah hit to right field was caught by Perez. For the next two innings it was defense with the Lady Knights picking off several hits to the outfield and Flanary striking out Okemah batters. Flanary took a first pitch in the sixth and placed it into centerfield for a single. Haley Cook did the same for a single. Perez hit to right scoring Flanary and moving Cook to third. Maddie James hit over short bringing in Cook for the fourth and final run.
	The highlight game was to follow between Henryetta and Sequoyah-Tahlequah. Kamarie Wallace got a hit then a pair of errors at first and second enabled her to get to third. Flanary got a hit but another error by the Lady Indian First base brought Mykaela Wallace across home plate. Henryetta pushed the lead even more in the second when Maddie James got on first thanks to another overthrown ball. Balee Powders rapped the ball past short to get on first then Hanna Gouge singled loading the bases and only one out on the Lady Knights. Maddie Gouge hit a short roll back toward the pitcher sending James toward home. A missed throw from the pitcher to the Lady Indian catcher allowed James to score. Osterdock nailed the first pitch all the way to the fence driving in Powders and Gouge.
The Lady Indians gained a couples of third inning runs and one in the fourth to threaten the Henryetta lead. In the fifth inning, Kamarie Wallace got a double down the third base line. She scored on a Flanary hit to center field that resulted in a double. The scoring possibilities needed when Cook was thrown out at first. A would-be double by Sequoyah ended when Perez picked up a rolling hit and still get it to second. That action continued as Mykaela Wallace dove for a hit and, from her knee, still threw it to Cook for the out. Flanary caught the third hit back to her for out number three. Back to back errors on the Lady Indian outfield put Perez and James on first and third in the sixth inning. Powders hit a single that was dropped scoring Perez. James crossed home when Charee Graham singled followed by Osterdock hitting a double to second. Kamarie Wallace singled to left loading the bases but Mykaela's hit to left field was caught leaving them stranded. Sequoyah was never able to get hits to fall in the right spot in the next two innings and the Lady Knights captured the win. Watch the Sequoyah game video here. Watch the HHS-Okemah game video here.