Cache decks Verdigris, makes State

CACHE—Cache’s softball teams came up with a gallant comeback effort to rally from a 1-0 deficit to win two games in the 4A Super Regionals and advance by knocking off Verdigris Friday afternoon in the rubber game of the best-of-three series.

The Lady Bulldogs will battle Newcastle in the first round of the state tournament Thursday at Firelake Sports Complex in Shawnee. The game times will be announced Monday by the OSSAA.

When the series started on Thursday the No. 8-seeded Bulldogs found tough sledding as the 9th-seeded Cardinals rolled to an 8-0 victory in Game 1.

Cache pitcher Kadielynne Fisher gave up 12 hits in the game, the most all season, and her offense could only muster three hits for themselves.

Game 2 immediately followed, and it seemed for the first four innings that the Bulldogs’ season was on the verge of coming to an end as they were down 5-1 in the top of the fifth with 2 outs.

But Maddie Tate drove in Asia Timmons narrowing the lead to three runs and giving Cache hope. Then in the top of the sixth the Lady Bulldogs add two more runs, bringing the score to 5-4.

That set the stage for some drama as with two outs and staring down strike three, Payton Nunley hammered a 2-run homer over the centerfield fence.

The Bulldogs responded to the crushing defeat in game 1 with 10 hits and some solid defense to even the series.

After waiting out the evening, Game 3 started Friday afternoon and the Bulldogs continued to ride the momentum fro Thursday’s comeback win and took a 5-2 victory to clinch the State berth.

Verdigris opened the scoring in the first inning with a double scoring two runs, but that was it for the Cardinals as they could not overcome the Bulldogs’ dominant defense.

Kayla Timmons stole a 2-run home run that would have surely changed the momentum for the Cardinals in the bottom of the fourth, then in the top of the fifth the Bulldogs took the lead and never looked back not committing a single error in the 7-inning contest.