AC/Okeene take part in tourney

After falling to Covington-Douglas 8-10 to begin action in the Ringwood Spring Swing March 11, Okeene/Aline-Cleo looked to rebound in their second game of the day against the Cherokee Lady Chiefs.

After the coin flip the OAC was swinging the bats first and leadoff hitter Keely Hussey quickly made her presence known as she delivered an inside-the-park homerun.

Hannah Nease then made it on base after drawing a walk before Hailey Swart followed suit by drawing a walk of her own.

A single by Katelyn Penner loaded the bases with no outs recorded. Aline-Cleo’s Alexus Nagule then stepped to the plate and belted a 2-RBI single to score Nease and Hailey.

Aline-Cleo’s Leah Ramey then drew a walk and the bases were again loaded. Hope Swart then got credit for a RBI after drawing a walk allowing Penner to score.

Madison Munden followed with a RBI walk to score Naugle before Hayley Spaeth delivered a 2-RBI double to drive in Ramey and Hope.

Jentry Biggs then found a pitch she liked and delivered a RBI single to score Munden and OAC was left with runners on the corners.

Hussey then made her way to the plate for the second time in the first inning and delivered a RBI single to score Spaeth. Back-to-back popouts closed out the top of the first with OAC on top 9-0.

Bottom of the first saw Cherokee draw a walk and single to open the inning before three straight pop outs sent the game to the second inning with OAC on top 9-0.

Top of the second saw OAC go three up and three down and the game went to the bottom of the second with the score remaining 9-0.

Despite the Lady Chiefs opening the bottom of the second with a walk and two singles, force outs quickly took the lead runners off the base paths. A groundout ended the second inning with the score unchanged.

Hope drew a walk to begin action in the top of third before Munden delivered a RBI double to score Hope. Three straight outs saw Hope left stranded with the score standing at 10-0.

Cherokee started making a comeback in the bottom of the third as the Lady Chiefs scored five runs on nine hits but the inning with a double play and the score stood at 10-5 going into the fourth inning.

Top of the fourth opened with back-to-back outs for OAC before they started making a two out rally that began with a single by Penner. Naugle followed up Penner’s single with a single of her own and OAC had two runners on base with two outs.

Ramey then connected for a 2-RBI double to drive in Penner and Naugle. Hope followed with a RBI triple to score Ramey before a strikeout sent the game into the bottom of the fourth with OAC on top 13-5.

After a single to open the bottom of the inning three straight outs sent the game to the firth inning with OAC on top 13-5.

Spaeth opened the inning with a single and she was followed by Biggs who connected for a single of her own. One at bat later, Hussey delivered her second big moment of the game as she blasted another inside-the-park homerun, this time a three run shot that scored Spaeth and Biggs.

Nease then singled as did Naugle and OAC had a runner on base with no outs. A single by Hailey then put two runners on base before Penner connected for a RBI double to drive in Nease.

The game then moved to the bottom of the fifth with OAC on top 18-5.

Following back-to-back popouts Cherokee connected for a single before a flyout one at bat later closed out the game with Okeene/Aline-Cleo getting the 18-5 victory.

In their final game of the first day of the tournament OAC took down Waukomis 16-10 to run their season record to 4-1.

Due to weather conditions, the tournament’s final day of action Feb. 13 was canceled.