SHAWNEE — TheOklahoma Class 6A-4A fastpitch softball state quarterfinals began on Thursday at FireLake Ball Fields in Shawnee. Here’s a recap of the action:
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Coweta 6, Carl Albert 1
Chaney Helton made it her mission to set the tone early.
The senior OU commit did just that by crushing a solo home run in the Tigers' very first at-bat of the evening. However, her electric day was just getting started.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, she singled a line drive to center field which brought in catcher Sierra Soto to give Coweta a 3-1 lead. Moments later, Helton would score after a double to left field from Tayen Allen brought in two additional runners — further extending the Tigers' lead to five.
As she crossed home plate, Helton turned to embrace the roaring crowd while pumping her fists as the run proved to be the dagger in seventh-ranked Coweta's upset win over second-ranked Carl Albert.
"Playing in environments like these is one of my favorite things to do in the world," Helton said. "I'm a very energetic person and I love my team and our school spirit. When I'm out there I try to have a free mind and have fun and trust in my training that got me to this point."
Although the Tigers are on a tear at the moment, their season hasn't always been smooth sailing.
Coweta finished the regular season below .500 with a 14-18 record after losing 12 of their first 13 games. Injuries to outfielders and their pitching rotation derailed a large chunk of the season in the first month of action. Midway through the season, the Tigers sat at 3-12 with their morale as low as it's been since their 2020 state title run.
However, the Tigers began to turn its season around after the return of senior pitcher Dasia Mason. They finished their season going 11-6 and pulled off two regional wins over Glenpool and Bishop Kelley to clinch a spot in the Class 5A quarterfinals.
Now, Coweta looks to make their second consecutive state title run with hopes of repeating their 2020 outcome this time around. They'll continue the quest for the program's fifth state championship on Friday against Guthrie at noon.
"It took we had some growing pains and we struggled there at the beginning of the year," Coweta head coach Blake Dunn said, "but the girls just stayed true to the plan and kept on being hungry. We have a resilient group of players. I'm proud of the fight we've shown all season long, but we have to stay focused. It's the state tournament — anything can happen."
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Edmond Memorial 10, Mustang 7
Sydnee Seat knew the Bulldogs needed a spark.
She took the plate In the top of the sixth inning as fifth-ranked Edmond Memorial trailed 4-3 with hopes of providing a difference-making hit. However, Seat did more than what she envisioned initially. The Oklahoma Christian commit kickstarted an avalanche.
Seat's 220-foot solo home run over the left field wall was all the momentum the Bulldogs needed to get going.
"With it being my fourth year here, I've been just telling myself to think like a veteran," Seat said. "So in that moment I was trying to think positive and that I could do something here, but to also just stay calm and let everything come to me."
Edmond Memorial's bats began to get hot shortly after the game-tying home run. They scored five runs in the sixth inning thanks to timely hits from Kensington Perrotti and Emma Watkins. Perotti crushed a single to center field, bringing in two runs to extend the Bulldogs' lead to two. After Perrotti was caught stealing second, Watkins stepped up to bat where she blasted a two-run home run to center field, giving them an 8-4 lead.
The Bulldogs would extend their lead further in the final inning with hits from Chenna Davidson and Keegan Baker who batted in additional runs.
Despite a home run from Broncos third baseman Eden Anderson, the sixth-inning scoring eruption from the Bulldogs proved to be crucial as the defending Class 6A champions went on to defeat fourth-ranked Mustang 10-7.
"I think a win like this shows a lot about our toughness," Seat said. "Lately we've just had to stick together as a team. We knew at the start of August we knew we had to change something because it wasn't working and we kind of felt the pressure. So because of that, I think people saw that and are counting us out — but we're coming for blood."
After finishing the season with a 27-10 record, Edmond Memorial has now won 9 of its last 11 games and will face off against first-ranked Owasso in the semifinals at noon on Friday.
"I couldn't be more proud of the team today, they showed a whole lot of fight," Bulldogs coach Kayla Carlsward said. "The girls think that they're being overlooked right now, so they're feeling really good about tomorrow. Everyone thinks Owasso has got it in the bag, but we'll be ready."
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Blanchard 1, Tuttle 0
Jaydn Hefley stood tall in the circle with utmost confidence.
In the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs and a runner on first and second base, the senior stepped to the mound unfazed by the moment. She had been here before.
"In those moments, it's always easy to be nervous," Hefley said. "I just told myself that there is no time to be nervous. Just go out, dominate and be you. It's a game that I've played forever so I just tried my best to embrace it."
And in that moment, she did just that.
Hefley delivered two strikes up the middle on her first two pitches which Tuttle outfielder Kynlee Swain chased swinging. With her next pitch, Swain hit a fly out to left field to secure No. 13 Blanchard's 1-0 upset win over top-ranked Tuttle.
Both teams were at a stalemate for the first six innings thanks in part to Hefley's dominance on the mound — allowing just one hit and striking out seven batters. The Lions broke the 0-0 draw with a Landry Gray single to center field, bringing in Baylee Tate for the score who stole second base after a single.
The loss ends Tuttle's 14-game win streak the Tigers entered the state tournament with. Blanchard knew all along they were the underdogs coming into the matchup, but Lions coach Blake Stringer didn't feed into the noise.
"Our team has a lot of heart and a lot of guts — I think that's what they showed everyone today," Stringer said. "We're not just satisfied with just just being here, we want to make some noise. You can look at our rankings and throw those out the window 'cause they don't mean anything at this time of year."
"We have a team that's all about each other, that's what's so awesome about it," Stringer continued. "That's what makes this moment that much greater and makes me so proud of them. This is not just one or two players who are getting it done — It's all of us."
Blanchard will take on fifth-ranked Purcell at noon on Friday.
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Extra Innings
▶ Broken Arrow defeated Deer Creek 3-2 to advance to the Class 6A state semifinals. The Tigers will take on Southmoore, which took down rival Moore 5-3.
▶ Piedmont beat Durant 3-0 to advance to the Class 5A state semifinals. The Wildcats will next face off against Elgin, which defeated Pryor 3-0.
▶ Newcastle defeated Cache 4-0 to advance to the Class 4A semifinals. The Racers will play North Rock Creek, which took down Weatherford 2-0.
Jordan Daviscovers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jordan? He can be reached at jdavis@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at@jdavis34_. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletterto access more high school coverage. Support Jordan’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
