Dewar begins week with 3-1 win over No. 6 Tushka

The Dewar Lady Dragon varsity fastpitch softball team earned a pair of narrow wins over some tough competition earlier this week.

The Lady Dragons, who suffered their first loss of the season last Saturday in the championship game of the annual Sue Treloar Memorial Tournament in Depew, got back on the winning track on Monday with a hardfought 3-1 victory over Class A No. 6 Tushka in Dewar, then improved to 16-1 on the year with a 6-5, come-from-behind, win over Class 3A powerhouse Eufaula on Tuesday in Eufaula.

The Dewar ladies were back in action on Thursday with a trip to Cleveland and a showdown with the Class 4A powerhouse Cleveland Lady Tigers.

After Thursday’s trip to Cleveland, the Lady Dragons will host the Graham-Lady Chieftains on Tuesday before closing out next week’s action at the Mounds Tournament next Thursday-Saturday.

In Monday’s home win against Tushka, the Lady Dragons did all of their offensive damage in the bottom of the fourth, scoring three runs on two hits. All three Dewar runs came across to score on three defensive miscues by the Lady Tiger defense.

Tushka ended Dewar’s shutout bid with a run in the top of the seventh for a 3-1 victory for the host Lady Dragons.

The two base hits for Dewar in the 3-run fourth came on singles by Marti Yaerger and Raygin Thomas. The other baserunners for Dewar in the inning were Kinsey Maldonado, Brooke Thomas, and Bre Harvell, who all reached on errors in the frame.

Brooke Thomas went the distance in the circle for Dewar to earn the pitching win, allowing one run on five hits with two walks, three strikeouts, and one hit batter in seven innings of work.

In Tuesday’s come-from-behind win at Eufaula, the host Lady Ironheads opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first, then added three in the fourth for a 4-0 advantage after four innings of action.

The Dewar offense plated five runs in the top of the fifth to take over the lead at 5-4. The big hit in the 5-run frame came on a go-ahead Grand Slam home run by Kinsey Maldonado with two outs in the inning.

After Eufaula tied the score at 5-5 with a run in its half of the sixth, Marti Yaerger gave the Lady Dragons the lead for good at 6-5 by blasting a 1-2 pitch over the left-field wall for a leadoff solo home run in the top of the seventh.

The Dewar defense thwarted a comeback attempt by the Lady Ironheads in the home half of the seventh to walk away with the thrilling 6-5 decision.

The top hitters for the Lady Dragons on Tuesday were Brooke Thomas (2 for 4, 2 singles) and Bre Harvell (2 for 4, 2 singles) with two hits apiece.

Besides the home runs by Maldonado and Yaerger, the only other Dewar base hits against Eufaula came on a single by Jaycie Berry, double by Korbyn Anderson, and RBI single by Raygin Thomas.

Other Lady Dragon baserunners in the road win were Yaerger (2 walks), Harvell (error), Berry (error), Raygin Thomas (walk), and Alyssa Baughman (fielder’s choice).

Brooke Thomas earned the pitching win for Dewar, giving up five runs on five hits with seven walks and six strikeouts in seven innings of work.

— Monday, August 28 Dewar 3, Tushka 1

Tushka:0-0-0-0-0-0-1 1-5-3 Dewar: 0-0-0-3-0-0-x 3-2-2 WP: Brooke Thomas LP: Anderson HR: None — Tuesday, August 29 Dewar 6, Eufaula 5

Dewar: 0-0-0-0-5-0-1 6-9-2 Eufaula:1-0-0-3-0-1-0 5-5-2 WP: Brooke Thomas LP: A. Williams HR: Dewar: Marti Yaerger, Kinsey Maldonado; Eufaula: K. Williams