On Tuesday night in Oliver Springs the two teams who currently sit atop the District 3 Softball standings met for the last time in the regular season as the Lady BobCats hosted the Lady Bulldogs from Wartburg Central. The Lady Bulldogs currently are in the #1 position in the District with an overall record of 11-1 and a perfect District mark of 6-0. The Lady BobCats are 2nd in the District with an overall record of 12-3 and a District mark of 5-1. The two teams last met on March 12th with the Lady Bulldogs coming away with the 12-6 victory, that game being played in Wartburg.
Tonight’s contest was what would be expected from the two District leaders. It would be a hard fought back and forth affair which would require the full seven innings before the visitors were able to come away with the 10-6 victory.
Before the contest started, the teams payed tribute to Oliver Springs Coach Walter M. Headden who passed away in 2023. The Coach was loved by his players and students and was a well respected member of the community. Family members and current and former players were present for tonight’s memorial.
Tonight’s game began with Addison Griffith in the circle for the Lady BobCats to oppose Braylen Melton for the visiting Lady Bulldogs.
The Lady Bulldogs would strike early on hits from Melton, Jade Brooks and Madison Starkey which combined with several fielding errors put the Lady Bulldogs up 2-0 at the end of the 1st.
A double by Kylie Francis and single from Edye Ann Williams would push the Lady Bulldogs lead to 3-0 in the 2nd as the Lady BobCats’ bats remained silent and after 2 it was 3-0 Lady Bulldogs.
The 3rd was an offensive show on both sides of the diamond. After Jade Brooks was hit by a pitch, singles by Starkey and Madi Aslinger would bring Brooks home, advanving the Wartburg lead to 4-0. The Lady BobCats would respond in the bottom of the inning with hits from Emmaline Patton, Chloe Lackey, Bella Thornton and Hannah McKinney which produced 4 runs, tying things at 4-4 after 3.
The 4th belonged to Wartburg Central as the Lady Bulldogs sent 11 batters to the plate, collecting 6 hits and adding 3 runs to boost the Lady Bulldog’s lead to 7-4 after 4 complete.
The 5th would see the only home run of the game as Braylen Melton went deep with Edye Ann Williams aboard to up the Lady Bulldog lead to 9-4. The Lady BobCats responded in the bottom of the 5th with a double from Thornton and singles from Carlee Gallaher and Jackson Lawson but only a single run was added and through 5 it was 9-5 Wartburg Central.
Both squads showed some offensive promise in the 6th as there was a total of 15 base runners in the inning but no one crossed the plate. After 6 the score remained 9-5 Wartburg.
The 7th would see both teams add a run to their totals but neither could sustain any offense and the contest ended 10-6 Lady Bulldogs. The next time these two face off will be in the playoffs when it will be win or go home time.
