The Roland Lady Rangers got their first wins of the 2024 slowpitch softball season as they defeated the Sallisaw Lady Diamonds 13-6 and the Morris Lady Eagles 6-5 on Thursday afternoon in Sallisaw.
However, the beginning and end of last week did not go as well. On April 2, the Lady Rangers suffered losses in their home openers, losing 15-5 to Checotah and 12-3 to Panama, then they ended the week with a 14-3 road loss to archrival Muldrow on Friday evening in Muldrow.
In the win over Sallisaw, the Lady Rangers (2-7) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning thanks to an RBI single by Jaydance Bean, a bases-loaded walk to Emily Daws and a Sallisaw error. After the Lady Diamonds cut the deficit to 4-3 at the end of the opening inning, the Lady Rangers sent 13 batters to the plate in the second inning, scoring eight of them, to take a 12-3 lead. The big hits in the rally were RBI singles by Kyleigh Knapp and Bean, an RBI triple by Daws, a sacrifice fly by Lilly Cole and a tworun double by Kynlei Earnhart.
A one-out RBI single by Bean gave Roland a 13-6 lead in the third inning, which is what proved to be the final score.
For the game, Daws was 4-for-4 with a triple, two runs batted in and a run scored, Bean was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored, Addyson Clark was 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored, Chloee Strong was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored, Earnhart was 2-for-5 with a two-RBI double, Knapp was 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored and Kiah Pettit doubled and scored once for Roland. Pettit got the win.
In the win over Morris, the Lady Rangers won in walk-off fashion as they scored five runs — all with two outs — in the home half of the seventh inning to get the win, with Knapp’s tworun triple was the gamewinning hit.
For the game, Earnhart was 3-for-4 with a run scored, while Knapp hit the game-winning, two-run triple for Roland. Earnhardt got the win.
In the loss to Muldrow, after the Lady Rangers took a 3-1 lead in the second inning, the Lady Bulldogs erupted for 12 runs in their half of the inning for a 13-3 lead after two innings. A single run in the third inning put the game into runrule status.
In defeat, Earnhart was 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, while Clark doubled for Roland. Pettit took the loss.
In the loss to Checotah, a five-run second inning and a six-run fourth inning put the Lady Wildcats ahead 11-0. The Lady Rangers cut their deficit to 11-4 after four innings but got no closer.
In defeat, Clark was 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored, while Bean was 2-for-3 with a run batted in and a run scored for Roland.
In the loss to Panama, the Lady Razorbacks jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning, but a three-run first inning for the Lady Rangers cut their deficit to 5-3 after an inning. However, that was as close as Roland got as Panama scored seven runs in the fourth inning to put the game into run-rule status.
In defeat, Daws was 2-for-3 with a run scored for Roland. Earnhart took the loss.
The Lady Rangers were slated to play Keota at home Monday, then play in the Checotah Tournament on Thursday before entertaining Muldrow and Vian in a home three-way beginning at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Next week, the Lady Rangers will play at 4:30 p.m. Monday at Fort Gibson and at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at home against Gore.
