Preston outscores foes 31-0 en route to title

The Preston Lady Pirate varsity fastpitch softball team did not allow a single run in last weekend’s New Lima Softball Tournament.

In four tournament contests, the Lady Pirates outscored their opponents 31-0, including a 10-0 win over Buffalo Valley in the championship game last Saturday.

The Preston squad, who improved to 19-4 on the season with the tournament sweep, began their journey towards the tournament championship with a 16-0 win over the Alex Lady Longhorns, then slipped past a tough Konawa Lady Tiger squad by a 5-0 margin in the quarterfinals.

The Lady Pirates punched their ticket to the title contest with a 9-0 win over the Buffalo Valley Lady Buffaloes in the tournament semifinals.

The Preston squad was back in action Tuesday, hosting the Mounds Lady Eagles, and will close out the week at the Mounds Tournament Thursday and Saturday, beginning with opening-round action against arch rival Beggs Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

In last Thursday’s shutout win over Alex, the Lady Pirates opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first. The Preston squad added six in the second, one in the fourth, and eight in the fifth for the 16-0 decision.

Mazie Flud (3 for 4, 2 doubles, home run, 5 RBIs) led the Preston offensive attack against Alex with a 3-hit performance. Flud’s roundtripper came on a 3-run blast in the 8-run fifth.

The trio of Taylan Starr (2 for 4, single, home run, 2 RBIs), Kinlee Basquez (2 for 4, 2 singles), and Celeste Pineda (2 for 4, single, double, RBI) also recorded multi-hit games for the Lady Pirates against Alex with two hits apiece. Starr’s home run came on a 2-run blast in the fifth.

The other Preston base hits in the run-rule win came on singles by Emilie Stidman, Na’Braijhanae Phillips, Josie Cope, an RBI single by Alynn LeBlanc, and a 2-run home run in the fifth by Kristen Holuby.

Other Lady Pirate baserunners against Alex were Starr (error), Stidman (RBI fielder’s choice), Holuby (error), Phillips (error), Cope (2 walks), LeBlanc (error), and Olivia Beaver (fielder’s choice).

Cope earned the pitching win for Preston against Alex, allowing three hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts in five shutout innings of work.

In Friday’s quarterfinal win over Konawa, the Lady Pirates opened the scoring with three runs in the home half of the first. After the next two and one-half innings went scoreless, the Preston ladies added two insurance runs in the bottom of the fourth to walk away with the 5-0 decision.

Mazie Flud led the Preston offensive attack against Konawa, finishing 2 for 2 with a triple, home run, and 2 RBIs. Flud’s home run came on a solo blast in the fourth.

Taylan Starr also recorded a 2-hit game for the Lady Pirates, finishing 2 for 3 with a pair of triples and an RBI.

The only other base hits for Preston in the quarterfinal win came on a 2-run double by Josie Cope.

Other Lady Pirate baserunners in the shutout victory were Emilie Stidman (walk), Kristen Holuby (error), Na’Braijhanae Phillips (fielder’s choice), and Celeste Pineda (error).

Starr went the distance in the circle for Preston to earn the pitching win, striking out eight and allowing just three hits in five scoreless innings of work.

In Saturday’s semifinal meeting with Buffalo Valley, the Lady Pirates broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the top of the second. The Preston squad added six runs in the top of the third for the 9-0 decision.

The Preston offense was led by the duo of Emilie Stidman (2 for 3, single, triple, RBI) and Kinlee Basquez (2 for 2, single, double, 2 RBIs) with two hits apiece.

The only other Lady Pirate base hit in the semifinal win came on a single by Kristen Holuby.

Other Preston baserunners against Buffalo Valley were Taylan Starr (walk), Na’Braijhanae Phillips (catcher’s interference), Josie Cope (dropped third strike), and Celeste Pineda (2 errors).

Cope was awarded the pitching win for the Lady Pirates, striking out four and giving up just four hits in four scoreless innings of work.

In Saturday’s title game against Buffalo Valley, the Lady Pirates tallied three runs in each of the first two innings, then added two in the third and two in the fourth for the 10-0 decision.

Leading the offensive attack for Preston in the championship game were Taylan Starr (3 for 3, 2 doubles, triple, RBI) and Na’Braijhanae Phillips (3 for 3, single, double, home run, 3 RBIs) with three hits apiece. Phillips’ home run came on a 2-run blast in the second.

Other Lady Pirate batters with multi-hit games against Buffalo Valley in the title game were Kristen Holuby (2 for 3, single, triple, RBI), Mazie Flud (2 for 3, double, home run, 3 RBIs), and Kinlee Basquez (2 for 2, 2 singles) with two hits each. Flud’s roundtripper in the title contest came on a 2-run shot in the fourth.

Celeste Pineda accounted for the final Preston base hit in the title game with a single, while Josie Cope and Alynn LeBlanc were the only other baserunners for the Lady Pirates in the 10-run victory by reaching on defensive miscues.

Starr struck out three and hit a batter while allowing just one base hit in four shutout innings of work to earn the pitching win for Preston.

— New Lima Tournament Second Round

Preston 16, Alex 0

Preston: 1 – 6 – 0 – 1 – 8 16 – 14 – 0 Alex: 0-0-0-0-0 0-3-4 WP: Josie Cope LP: Beckham HR:Preston:TaylanStarr,KristenHoluby,MazieFlud — Quarterfinals

Preston 5, Konawa 0

Konawa:0-0-0-0-0 0-3-2 Preston:3-0-0-2-0 5-5-0 WP: Taylan Starr LP: Coats HR: Preston: Mazie Flud — Semifinals

Preston 9, Buffalo Valley 0

Preston: 0 – 3 – 6 – 0 9 – 5 – 0 BV: 0-0-0-0 0-4-5 WP: Josie Cope LP: Wright HR: None — Championship

Preston 10, Buffalo Valley 0

Preston: 3 – 3 – 2 – 2 10 – 13 – 0 BV: 0-0-0-0 0-1-2 WP: Taylan Starr LP: Wright HR: Preston: Na’Braijhanae Phillips, Mazie Flud