Photo by Jean St. Fleur
Langston, Okla. – The Central Christian College softball team went on the road this past weekend, and picked up a much needed four game sweep over the Langston University Lions, putting them in sixth place in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings at 8-14 in conference play.
Game 1: W, 11-4
The Tigers got off to a hot start in the series opener, jumping out to a quick lead with five runs in the top of the first inning. They added two more in the top of the second and two in the top of the third to lead 9-0 before the Lions got on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third.
The Tigers added another run in the top of the fourth and a final run in the top of the seventh giving them 11 for the game. The Lions added one in their half of the fifth and a final run in the bottom of the seventh.
Hitting: The Tigers scored 11 runs on 14 hits. Nine of the 14 were singles, the others doubles by Camryn Frick, Amberly Barrera, Iliana Luna, and Karmen De la Cruz, and a homerun by De la Cruz.
Pitching: Madalyn Griffin picked up her seventh win of the season in game one, going the distance and surrendering four runs on eight hits. She finished with four strikeouts and three walks.
Leaders
Hits: Camryn Frick, Karmen De la Cruz (3)
Doubles: Four Tigers (1)
Triples: none
Homeruns: Karmen De la Cruz (1)
RBI: Karmen De la Cruz (4)
Stolen Bases: none (1)
Strikeouts Pitching: Madalyn Griffin (4)
Put Outs: Carmen De la Cruz (6)
Assists: Madalyn Griffin (2)
Game 2: W, 3-2
Game two on Friday was a much more tightly contested game. The game was knotted a zero through two and a half innings of play before the Lions broke the scoreless tie with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning. In the top of the fourth, the Tigers cut the deficit in half when Olivia Roe singled to score Destiny Holt.
In the sixth inning, Roe came through again, this time driving in Ashley Vaccaro to tie the game at 2-2, then in the top of the seventh with runners at second and third, Frick grounded out, but it was enough to drive in Luna from third for the go ahead run.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, the Lions got a runner on, bringing the winning run to the plate, but a fly out to center field, followed by a ground out to shortstop ended the Lions' threat, and the Tigers escaped with a 3-2 victory and a day one sweep.
Hitting: The Tigers scored their three runs on seven hits. Five of the Tiger hits were singles, the other two were doubles by Holt, and Abby Schleisman.
Pitching: Sara Lynch got the start in the circle for the Tigers in game two. She improved her record to 9-9 on the year, allowing two runs on seven hits. She finished with six strikeouts and five walks.
Leaders
Hits: Olivia Roe (3)
Doubles: Destiny Holt, Abby Schleisman (1)
Triples: none
Homeruns: none
RBI: Olivia Roe (2)
Stolen Bases: none
Strikeouts Pitching: Sara Lynch (6)
Put Outs: Halee Wallin (7)
Assists: Iliana Luna (4)
Game 3: W, 9-3
The Tigers kept things rolling on Saturday, opening the day with a 9-3 win. The CCCK ladies got on the board first on a sacrifice fly by Holt, that scored Vaccaro. They added four more in the second to make it 5-0 before the Lions got on the board in the bottom of the second with a solo run.
In the sixth inning, the Tigers put up another four spot to make it 9-1 before Langston added a run in the bottom of the sixth and one more in the seventh, making the final score 9-3.
Hitting: The Tiger bats were scorching hot in game three with 13 hits that scored nine runs. Eight of the 13 hits were singles, the other five doubles.
Pitching: Griffin was back in the circle for the Tigers in Saturday's opener, and she notched another win. She held the Lions to three runs, scattering eight hits. She had two strikeouts and no walks.
Leaders
Hits: Karmen De la Cruz, Camryn Frick (3)
Doubles: Five Tigers (1)
Triples: none
Homeruns: none
RBI: Destiny Holt (3)
Stolen Bases: none
Strikeouts Pitching: Madalyn Griffin (2)
Put Outs: Halee Wallin (12)
Assists: Iliana Luna, Camryn Frick (4)
Game 4: W, 9-1
The Tigers completed the series sweep with a 9-1 win in game four that ended in the fifth inning via the run rule.
Compared to the other games in the series, the Tigers got off to a relatively slow start offensively in game four. The Tigers were held scoreless through the first two innings, while the Lions took a 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the first.
In the top of the third, the Tigers shook off the sluggish start, and pushed across three runs, two of them coming on a single by Holt that drove in Barrera, and Frick. The flood gates opened in the top of the fourth as the Tigers were able to plate four more runs. They added two more for good measure in the top of the fifth, to finish out the scoring.
The defense and pitching was spectacular after giving up the run to the Lions in the first inning. From there the Tigers held Langston scoreless the rest of the way.
Hitting: The Tigers scored their nine runs on eight hits, with half of the hits going for extra bases.
Pitching: Sara Lynch had a great outing back in the circle for the Tigers in the finale. She pitched a complete game, allowing just one run on six hits with a pair of strikeouts.
Leaders
Hits: Destiny Holt, Mariah Garcia (2)
Doubles: Four Tigers (1)
Triples: none
Homeruns: none
RBI: Camryn Frick, Destiny Holt, Amberly Barrera (2)
Stolen Bases: none
Strikeouts Pitching: Sara Lynch (2)
Put Outs: Mariah Garcia (6)
Assists: Isabel Vaughn (4)
Coach Quote: "We put several complete games together and fought back on one to pull out a four-game sweep of Langston. Very proud of the effort the team put together." - Coach Scott Balbin
Next Up: The Tigers get some much needed rest, with no midweek games this week. They will be back on the diamond this Friday and Saturday when they host Mid-America Christian University in a four game series. Friday's games are scheduled to start at 3:30 pm with the series to resume on Saturday at 12:00 pm.
