The Morris Lady Eagle varsity slowpitch softball team is currently on a 4-game losing streak after four-straight losses earlier this week.
The Lady Eagles, ranked 12th in Class 4A, entered this week with a 13-1 record and went to battle against four very talented teams, including three from Class 6A.
The Morris ladies began the week Monday evening in Henryetta in a 3-team battle with the host Henryetta Lady Knights and the Class 6A No. 16 Tahlequah Lady Tigers. The Lady Eagles watched a 9-9 tie late in regulation turn into a 23-11 loss to Tahlequah, then found themselves on the losing end of a 16-6 decision to the host Lady Knights. (See today’s edition for complete details of Monday’s county battle with Henryetta.)
The Morris squad continued their road trip Tuesday, traveling to Muskogee to battle the host Muskogee Lady Roughers (ranked 12th in 6A) and the Broken Arrow Lady Tigers (ranked 2nd in 6A) in a 3-team showdown.
The Lady Eagles began Tuesday’s action with a heartbreaking 6-5 loss to the host Lady Roughers, then ended up on the short end of a 13-1 outcome to Broken Arrow in the nightcap.
The Morris ladies will look to snap their losing streak Friday with a home game against Class 3A No. 13 Fairland.
In Monday’s showdown with Tahlequah, the Lady Tigers broke a scoreless tie with a run in the top of the fourth, then added five in the fifth for a 6-0 advantage.
The Lady Eagles broke onto the scoreboard in the last of the fifth, plating seven runs in the frame to take over the lead, 7-6, after five innings of action.
Tahlequah tallied three runs in the top of the sixth for a 9-7 advantage, while Morris pushed across a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to deadlock the score at 9-9 with one inning of regulation remaining.
The Lady Tigers tallied 14 runs in their half of the seventh, while Morris managed just two runs in its final at-bat of regulation to fall by a 23-11 margin.
Ashlyn Clevenger led the offensive attack for the Lady Eagles against Tahlequah, going 3 for 4 with three singles.
The trio of Maddie Moore (2 for 4, 2 singles, RBI), Marti Yaerger (2 for 3, single, home run, 3 RBIs), and Alli Guynes (2 for 2, single, double) also recorded multi-hit games for Morris in the loss with two hits apiece. Yaerger’s home run came on 3-run blast in the 7-run fifth.
The other base hits for the Lady Eagles against Tahlequah came on singles by Fire Clark and Briley Cagle, 2-run singles by Jessica Wilson and Camara Casey, and a solo home run in the fifth by Emma Duclos.
In Tuesday’s meeting with Muskogee, the Lady Eagles drew first scoring blood with a pair of runs in the top of the third.
The Morris ladies made it a 3-0 contest with a run in the top of the sixth, while Muskogee plated three runs in the last of the sixth to knot the score at 3-3, heading into the final inning of regulation.
The Lady Eagles went back in front, 5-3, with two runs in the top of the seventh and were one out away from earning a hard-fought win over a talented Class 6A team before the host Lady Roughers scored three runs on three hits and a defensive miscue to hand the Morris squad the heartbreaking 6-5 defeat.
Maddie Moore was the top offensive performer for the Lady Eagles against Muskogee, finishing 2 for 4 with a single, home run, and 2 RBIs. Moore’s roundtripper came on a 2-run blast in the third.
The other Morris base hits in the narrow loss came on singles by Ashlyn Clevenger, Briley Cagle, Alli Guynes, and Dezmond Lewis and RBI singles by Fire Clark and Courtney Wallace.
Leadoff hitter Jessica Wilson did not record an official at-bat against Muskogee, drawing a walk in each of her four plate appearances.
In Tuesday’s loss to Broken Arrow, the lone Morris run came in the top of the second, cutting the Broken Arrow lead in half, 2-1.
The second-ranked Lady Tigers turned the narrow advantage to double digits with an 11-run bottom of second.
The Lady Eagles were unable to produce any runs in the top of the third to put the Morris squad on the short end of a 13-1 decision.
The Morris offense was held to just two hits in the contest – singles by Ashlyn Clevenger and Kaydence Ausbrooks.
— Monday, April 10
Tahlequah 23, Morris 11
Tahlequah:0-0-0-1-5-3-14 23 – 20 – 4 Morris: 0-0-0-0-7-2-2 11 – 14 – 7 WP: Kirk LP: Briley Cagle HR: Tahlequah: Bread (2); Morris: Emma Duclos, Marti Yaerger — Tuesday, April 11
Muskogee 6, Morris 5
Morris: 0-0-2-0-0-1-2 5- 8 -2 Muskogee:0-0-0-0-0-3-3 6 – 12 – 2 Two outs when winning run scored WP: Grissom LP: Briley Cagle HR: Morris: Maddie Moore — Broken Arrow 13, Morris 1 Morris:0-1-0 1-2-3 BA: 2 – 11 – x 13 – 12 – 2 WP: Henson LP: Briley Cagle HR: None
