Three controversial calls, some untimely errors and a lack of clutch hitting doomed the Grove Lady Red to a 5-3 loss in a District 5A-4 home softball contest against Coweta on Tuesday.
The Lady Tigers (10-8) scored two runs each in the sixth and seventh innings to break a one-all tie. A seventh inning rally by the Lady Red (1-11) would get two runs before falling short.
“We battled and gave ourselves a chance, but we gave it away,” said Grove head coach Jeremy Collins. “I think we played well enough it’s just a matter of catching a break, but we’ve got to create a break for ourselves.”
Grove would score the game’s first run in the third inning. Ciera Christy led off the inning with a base hit and a throwing error on Gabi Fields’s grounder to short put runners on second and third. Two batters later, Taylor Rupe executed a squeeze bunt to score Christy with the game’s first run.
That came on the heels of a one-two-three top of the second in which Rupe made all three outs from her shortstop position on tough grounders, but a close call in the sixth inning that went against Grove helped turn the game Coweta’s way.
With runners on first and second and one out, Rupe collected a grounder from Coweta starting pitcher Ashton Friend. Rupe appeared to tag the runner going to third before throwing to first for the inning-ending double play. But Rupe was ruled to have missed the tag, allowing the inning to continue with runners on second and third with two outs. Coral Ash then followed with a two-run double that gave the Lady Tigers the lead for good.
In the bottom of the inning, Kaitlynn Smith was tagged out on a close play at third as she attempted to advance on a passed ball, ending a Grove rally. Smith was called out for leaving first base early, changing a fourth inning rally and keeping the Lady Red off the scoreboard.
“A call goes in the opposite direction then we probably come out with a better chance of winning,” Collins said. “The double play call was a big one; Kaitlynn Smith at third base was another big one. I didn’t feel like either one was warranted. And the call at first base – she’s not going anywhere. She didn’t create any advantage for herself, but we get called out on the bases and lose two baserunners just for that.”
A throwing error with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh gave Coweta two more runs. Grove would score two in the seventh, including an RBI single by Rupe, before the comeback fell short.
“[Rupe] played extremely well defensively,” Collins said. “She did a great job with the squeeze that gave us the lead there. She’s putting out that extra effort.”
Rupe finished with two hits and two RBIs while Christy also had two hits, scoring twice.
Starting pitcher Emilee Iverson gave up seven hits and two walks while striking out four in the complete game effort.
“Emilee pitched well,” Collins said. “I thought Coach [Brian] Tramel did a good job calling pitches that kept them off balance. We’ve just got to come up with a play when we need a play and come up with a hit when we need a hit and we just haven’t done it yet. Our margin for error is very minimal. We have to be good for all seven inning, not just five or six.”
The Lady Red will travel to Sand Springs for a tournament on Friday and Saturday. Friday Grove will take on Bixby, Perry and Glenpool in pool play, with a final pool game against Union on Saturday
