Tonkawa- The good plays in the first game and the score of the second at the Tonkawa doubleheader Tuesday prove the Lady Lions softball team knows its stuff.
The first game had a rough ending with a Lion loss at 21-5 that ended at the fifth inning. But the second game was a ping-pong match to the finish, with Tonkawa at the bottom of the seventh inning barely edging out a 16-14 win.
Kacie Bolner was the star of the first game. At bat, her three bunts and quick running allowed her to get on base every time she went to the plate.
In the first inning, Kennedy Cox smacked one out to center field for a double and to let Bolner get home.
In the field Bolner also shined; the first inning she stopped three grounders at shortstop and got all three outs.
In the second inning, she also made an amazing jump to catch a fly ball.
In that same inning, Sydney Jones also had two good plays. She caught a fly in left field, and when a hard grounder flew past the infielders, she stopped it and threw home to keep Tonkawa from scoring.
At the bottom of the fifth inning, the Lions at bat tried for a comeback and managed four runs before getting three outs.
Sarah Bolner popped the ball to shortstop who dropped it; Brielle Whittaker was hit with the ball; and Ashley Gould grounded one to third base who overthrew to first and let Sarah Bolner come home.
Kacie Bolner’s iconic bunt got her to first base; Cox hit a grounder to third for an RBI, getting out at first but letting Whittaker come home.
Hannah Trenary’s ball hit the back wall of the field, getting herself a triple and sending Gould and Kacie Bolner home.
The next two batters, Gracie Tytenciz and Lindsay Kuhlman fought to get on base, both infield hits, but the Buccaneers figured it out and stopped them short, ending the first game.
These good plays were nothing compared to how well the Lions played the second game. They kept up with the Buccaneers every inning.
Kacie Bolner started the game off right with her signature bunt for a single, and Trenary’s dinger sent Kacie Bolner and herself home after overthrows from the Buccaneers.
In the field, Whittaker made three nice catches in right field, in the first, third and fifth innings.
At the end of the first inning the Buccaneers had a 5-2 lead, but the Lions’ runs from Sydney Jones and Sarah and Kacie Bolner, and a brave slide home from Cox in the second inning pushed the Lions to a 6-5 lead, and a catch from Jones at short and throw out from Cox at catcher to Kacie Bolner at third base kept the Buccaneers from scoring.
The third inning went by quick; no Lions scored at the top. But, the Lions countered that with fly catches from Kinlee Jones, Sydney Jones and Whittaker to keep the Buccs from scoring more than two points.
By the fifth inning the Buccs led 9-6, but once again a good batting inning for the Lions tied it up.
Kinlee Jones hit an RBI, getting Tytenciz home; Whittaker hit the ball straight to right field, but it was too fast for her and she dropped it, which let Sydney Jones and Kuhlman run home.
The sixth inning saw the Lions take a short lead, with Tytenciz and Kuhlman making it home. The Buccs countered with four runs to get a lead, 14-11.
The Lions weren’t going to go down without a fight in the seventh, though.
Whittaker hit a grounder to short for a single; Kacie Bolner tried her bunt again, but the Buccs finally figured out how to stop her; Cox hit a line drive to second, but she dropped it and Cox made it to first; and Trenary hit past third base for Whittaker to come home.
Tytenciz was hit with the ball, and Kuhlman hit a hard grounder which made it past center field for a double, which let Tytenciz and Trenary run home to tie the game at 14-14.
In the bottom of the seventh the Lions and the Buccs were on their way to a tiebreaker; Tytenciz fielded a grounder at pitcher for an out at first, and Cox at catcher caught a foul ball.
But, it was all over when the Buccs hit a hard fly ball to left field, getting two runs in and ending the game.
The Lady Lions will play another doubleheader Thursday against Fairview in Luther at 5 p.m.
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