Published: October 06, 2008 10:45 pm            

Tourney time

Area softball teams hit the road for regionals

The regular season has officially come to end for area softball teams. Now all four clubs will hit the road in their quest for a trip to the state tourney.

Edmond Memorial and Santa Fe will stay on the west side of the state for the Class 6A regionals, while North is headed east. And in Class 5A action, Deer Creek will head to Shawnee.

Memorial (17-18) got a tough draw for regionals, heading to the Moore regional along with Norman and U.S. Grant. Despite being paired up with the Moore, the No. 3-ranked team and defending 6A state champion, Memorial coach Janet Chartney is optimistic about her team’s chances.

“We’re feeling good going into it, we’ve been playing well the last two weeks,” Chartney said. “We need to make sure we don’t have one of those bad innings that sets the tone, and we also need to get some production at the plate.”

To force a matchup with Moore, who beat Memorial 5-1 on Aug. 19, the Lady ‘Dog will first need to get by Norman at 2 p.m. The teams split their two meetings this season, with each team winning on the road.

The No. 9-ranked Santa Fe girls are hoping they can return to the state tournament, when they head to the Mustang regional. Along with the No. 6-ranked Broncos, who beat Santa Fe 3-1 on Sept. 16, the regional includes Southmoore and Lawton. Santa Fe (25-10) opens the tournament at 2 p.m. against Southmoore.

“Mustang is a good team and we need to bring our “A” game, but with Lawton and Southmoore, you can’t overlook anyone,” Santa Fe coach Rhonda Lawson said. “I would believe that Mustang would be the team we’d compete against for championship, but whoever is going to bring the best out of their players will be there.”

The Lady Wolves are also battling injuries. Senior Evan Gray has been hampered by a pulled groin for the past week and a half, but will likely play this week.

“At this point in the season everyone has something, but we definitely have some issues we have to deal with,” Lawson said. “Sierra (Bronkey) will pitch our first game and give (Gray) as much rest as possible. If not could be tough situation.”

With a number of very talented west-side teams, North coach Rick Nordyke was pleased to see his team headed the opposite direction. The Lady Huskies (12-21) open regionals against No. 7-ranked Bartlesville at 12 p.m., with Jenks and No. 12-ranked Sand Springs to follow at 2 p.m.

“I’m kind of glad we’re going east, they don’t know anything about us, we know a little about them, and we get to stay away from all the powerhouses on the west-side, so that’s a plus for us,” Nordyke said.

In the Class 5A tournament, the Deer Creek squad is feeling pretty good about their chances in the Shawnee regional. The No. 11-ranked Lady Antlers are up against No. 4-ranked Shawnee, Northwest Classen and Southeast.

Deer Creek and Northwest Classen will start off at 2:45 p.m., following the outcome of the Shawnee and Southeast contest.

The Lady Antlers have played Shawnee once this season, losing 4-0 after a tight ballgame. Despite the loss, head coach Erin Regier likes her team’s chances a second time around.

“We had them 1-0 about the whole game, and we didn’t throw Amanda (Alston), so we’ll see what she can do,” Regier said. “I feel like we’ve got a real lucky regional.”

Deer Creek also has a bit of momentum heading into the tournament, after taking two out of three at the Bishop Kelley Tournament last weekend, including a 3-2 win over No. 5-ranked Collinsville in nine innings.

        

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