Latta falls to Prague after close final play
May 5—OKLAHOMA CITY — It all came down to a close play at the plate that didn't go Latta's way.
Prague left fielder Jadyn Hightower gunned down Latta base runner Paislee Anderson on the final play of the game to help the second-ranked Lady Red Devils secure a thrilling 6-5 win over the 10th-ranked Lady Panthers in the first round of the Class 4A State Tournament Wednesday afternoon at Hall of Fame Stadium.
Prague advanced to the 4A semifinals after notching its 30th victory of the spring against only four losses. Latta's season came to an end at 24-18.
In another first-round contest, No. 5 Silo buried Coalgate 15-2. The Lady Wildcats — making the program's first trip to the slow-pitch state tournament — ended the season at 27-14. The Lady Rebels advanced to the semifinals with a 30-10 mark.
Prague 6, Latta 5
The Lady Panthers trailed 6-3 before staging a comeback in the top of the seventh inning.
Jaycie Presley led things off with a base hit and Laraby Jennings reached on a one-out Prague error that ended up putting runners at second and third.
Kate Williams followed with an RBI single that cut the Prague advantage to 6-4.
Ayzia then hit a sacrifice fly that scored Jennings from third base to get Latta within 6-5.
With two outs, Latta head coach Jeremy Bates then replaced Williams with his speedy freshman Anderson at second base. He then sent senior Mallory Glenn to the plate as a pinch-hitter.
Glenn connected on a 3-1 pitch for a single to Hightower in left field. She scooped up the ball on one hop and fired a strike to Prague catcher Kinsey Rice, who tagged Anderson's arm just before it reached home plate.
Latta got back-to-back solo home runs by sluggers Talise Parnell and Brookly Ryan with two outs in the top of the third inning that cut the LHS deficit to 5-3.
The Prague combo of Hightower and Rice hurt the Lady Panthers in the bottom of the sixth, too. Hightower doubled and later scored what turned out to be the game-winning run on an RBI groundout by Rice.
Latta finished with seven total hits, led by Ryan and Presley. Ryan finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored and Presley ended up 2-for-3 and scored once.
Hightower led Prague at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a run scored. No other PHS player had more than one hit.
Ady Custar ripped a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the first inning that tied the score at 1-1. Rice finished 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and Liyah Dauman also doubled for the Lady Red Devils.
Silo 15, Coalgate 2
The Lady Rebels scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning and then put Coalgate away with an eight-run surge in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game via the run rule. Bree Ginn smashed a walk-off grand slam to finish the contest. Ginn had cracked a two-run bomb in the bottom of the second inning to give Silo an early 2-0 edge. She finished 2-for-4 with six RBIs and two runs scored in Silo's 17-hit barrage.
Brooklyn Toney paced the Lady Rebels at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored. Cady Ammons finished 2-for-4 with a double, four RBIs and a run scored and Charley Hampton went 2-for-2 with two walks and a run scored from the top of the SHS lineup.
Cache Atwood also had two hits and scored two runs for Silo, while Josey Savage finished 1-for-2 with two runs scored. Makayla Clark and Connie Tubby both hit doubles.
JoJo Lambert and Brylee Rice both had two hits apiece to pace a nine-hit Coalgate offense. Rice finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Neveah Parker went 1-for-3 and drove in a run for the Lady Wildcats and Rainey Davis finished 1-for-2 and scored a run.
