Ada scoots past Byng in nine innings
Aug. 31—Just days before the Ada High School softball season was about to get underway, senior Gracey Dotson was listed on the roster as a manager.
Now she's coming up with big plays at first base and big hits at the plate.
With the Lady Cougars down to their final out, Dotson slapped a 1-1 pitch through the right side of the Byng defense and drove in two runs to tie the game and Ada went on to defeat the Lady Pirates 6-5 in a nine-inning thriller.
Ada improved to 7-8 overall and 2-4 in District 4A-4 play, while Byng dropped to 6-10 and 3-5. The Lady Pirates are sixth in the district standings while Ada is in the seventh slot.
"It feels good. Any win is a good win, especially in our district," Ada head coach Jeremy Strong told The Ada News following the game. "It was a fun game between two evenly matched teams. Both of us are kind of in the same situation with our teams. We have some kids in some spots that haven't been there before. But they're learning and getting better every day."
Both teams continue district play on Thursday. Ada travels to Pauls Valley at 5 p.m. and Byng hosts Sulphur at 5 p.m.
Dotson decided to officially join the team after Ada lost a couple of returning starters to season-ending injuries. Strong is thankful she did.
"Ever since she's been out, she's been putting the ball in play and making plays at first base for us. She's a good kid to have around. She's always smiling and energetic. She's fun to root for," he said.
Ada 6, Byng 5
(9 Innings)
Things looked bleak for the Lady Cougars heading into the top of the seventh inning trailing 5-2.
Abbey Strong hit a one-out single to start an Ada rally. With two outs, Trenity Duvall smashed a double to the gap in left-center field and Strong scored all the way from first base to get the Lady Cougars within 5-3.
Kiki Williams reached on an error and Ada loaded the bases after Karsyn Woods drew a walk.
Dotson then stepped to the plate and delivered her big hit that drove in two runs and knotted the score at 5-5. The inning ended when Byng right fielder Audrey Pope got the ball to Alona Cooper-Rochovitz who then gunned Woods down who was trying to advance to third base.
Ada scored the game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning. Rylynn Truett walked with one out and Duvall was hit by a pitch. Both Ada runners advanced on a wild pitch and Truett raced home on a groundout by Williams.
Byng's biggest inning came in the bottom of the fourth inning when the Lady Pirates pushed across three runs to build a 4-2 advantage. That frame included a bunt single by Aubrey Pope that scored a run, a sacrifice fly by Cooper that AHS outfielder Duvall made a nice play on for the out and a bloop single by Havyn Miller that pushed home a run and put Byng on top by two.
McKenzie Alford reached on an error and later scored on an RBI hit from Hannah Wort in the bottom of the fifth inning that put Byng on top 5-3 and set up the crazy Ada comeback.
"Byng did a good job of hitting the ball and putting us in situations ... and we didn't play every situation right, but we kept fighting," Strong said.
Byng freshman Blakely Miller made one of the top defensive plays of the game when she made a running catch of a ball off the bat of Strong to lead off the top of the fifth inning and rob the Ada senior of an extra-base hit.
Strong and Ariana Munoz both had two hits each to pace Ada at the plate. Havyn Miller and Wort finished with two hits each for the Lady Pirates.
Woods pitched all nine innings for Ada. She struck out three, walked four and surrendered three earned runs.
Wort pitched the first four innings for Byng and Piper Presley tossed the final five frames in relief. That BHS duo combined for six strikeouts and six walks.
