No. 9 ranked Eufaula Lady Ironheads saw their season come to an end after falling to Lone Grove 3-0. Lone Grove only earned one run while errors scored two runs. Defensively Eufaula played an outstanding game. To hold the No.l Lady Longhorns to just three runs is an accomplishment in itself.
Neither team scored in the first two innings but Lone Grove would put two runs on the scoreboard in the third inning to take a 2-0. Braylee Spence earned the win for the Lady Longhorns as surrendered one hit and zero runs over seven innings, striking out an amazing 15 batters and walking one.
Freshman Eufaula pitcher Leah Green took the loss for the Lady Ironheads. She went seven innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on six hits, striking out two and walking two. Green led Eufaula at the plate going l-for-3.
“ I don’t really like to compare teams to previous years squads…… all you can do is try to build on what successes you’ve had previously and this year’s team definitely did that. Each team tries to write their own chapter in our program history.
Kadie Jo, Maddie, Jadence, and Kate wanted nothing more than to collectively lead our team back to State. We don’t talk about it throughout the season but they knew what the expectations were.
“This is a very special group of girls, great ball players and fantastic young ladies.”
–Eufaula head coach Ryan Green
They understood the importance of team play and did everything they could to make our underclassmen feel comfortable, confident, and a loved member of our team.
I feel the three freshmen were thrown in the fire and never blinked. They excelled in their roll both offensively & defensively. When the post-season comes, everything gets ramped up a notch and that includes our fan base support and enthusiasm for this team. Our home regional was just ridiculous and our visiting teams had no choice but to succumb to the pressure our fans were giving. Super Regional down in Valliant, I feel our fans flipped the script and took the home field advantage away and willed our girls to victory. We had 30+ students, families, friends, and fans make the drive down and it was a game changer. State was electric. Playing on that field, vs. that team, on that stage, and could literally feel the love and support from our fans was pretty emotional! Our girls knew we had a chance and felt like our fans did too. The fight we put up was a direct reflection of the will to fight coming from the multiple filled rows behind us. This is a very special group of girls, great ball players and fantastic young ladies,” Eufaula head coach Ryan Green said.
Eufaula made school history again by making it to the state tournament two consecutive years and finished with an overall record of 305, with three of those losses coming from teams that went to the state tournament.
“Qualifying for state two years in a row was a surreal experience. It showed me that anything is possible with hard work. The impact it has had on our softball program is amazing. It’s giving all the underclassmen a goal to try and reach and know that it is possible,” Eufaula senior Kadie Jo Tidwell said.
Lone Grove went on to defeat Washington 13-2 to win the Class 3A State Title.
