The Pampa Lady Harvesters (2-10) wrapped up their non-district and tournament slate of games this past weekend at the Iowa Park Tournament.
Head Coach Denise Browning was pleased with the performances by the softball team.
"Our Lady Harvester's had another softball filled weekend at the Iowa Park Tournament this past weekend. We played a lot of tough opponents and played very competitively. We had a few games that we came up short right at the end of the time limit, and if given a full game, I truly believe we would have been victorious in the end,” Browning said.
The tournament began with a matchup against the 2A Petrolia Pirates on Thursday afternoon. Junior Michelle Gallegos started the scoring when she doubled on a line drive to center to score Sophomore Myla Zarate (who reached on an error) and Pampa led 1-0. Sophomore Brooklyn Warren reached on an error before Freshman Emme Hill grounded into a fielder’s choice which brought Gallegos home to score. Warren scored on a passed ball during Junior Payton Gowin’s at-bat to make it 3-0 Pampa after their first at-bat in the game.
The game remained with that score until the bottom of the second when the Pirates tied it up at three all. In the bottom of the third, the Pirates took the lead 5-3.
In the fourth, Warren opened the frame with a triple on a liner to right. Hill hit a sacrifice fly to score Warren and cut the Pirate lead to one. Gowin singled to left but the Lady Harvesters could not put up a crooked number in the inning. The Pirates would then explode in the bottom of the fourth to take a 10-4 lead.
Warren hit a triple to center to score Zarate and Gallegos in the fifth to cut the lead to 10-6. Final score: Petrolia 10, Pampa 6.
Stat Recap Petrolia game
Senior Ella Hudson had a hit. Zarate stole a base, had a walk, and scored two runs. Gallegos had a double, an RBI, and two runs. Warren was 2-3 with two triples, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Hill had a walk. Gowin had a hit.
The second game of the tournament was also on Thursday afternoon against the host team the 3A Iowa Park Hawks.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the second when Iowa Park exploded for seven runs to break the game wide open 7-0. Warren did record a double in the top of the second for Pampa.
Sophomore Claire Hall began the third with a single to right. Sophomore Kinley Duke also singled on a ground ball to right. Hall stole second while Duke was batting. Hudson singled on a ground ball to left to score Hall and make it 7-1 Iowa Park. Gallegos singled to right to score Duke and make it 7-2. Warren continued the hit parade with a single on a line drive to left to score Hudson. Hill grounded into a fielder’s choice but did get the RBI with Gallegos coming to score. Iowa Park added seven more runs in their frame of the third to make it 14-4 after three complete.
Freshman Addi Bagwell was hit by a pitch to begin the fourth. Hall was also hit by a pitch. Duke singled to right to score Bagwell. Hudson singled on a grounder to left. Gallegos reached on an error by the shortstop to score Duke and Hudson. Pampa cut the lead to 14-7 in their half of the fourth. Iowa Park added one more run to make it 15-7 after four.
Freshman Blaykee Cooper walked after Hill reached on an error. Hall grounded out to third but scored Hill on the play. Duke singled to center to score Cooper to give Pampa nine runs. Final score: Iowa Park 15, Pampa 9.
Stat Recap Iowa Park game
Hudson was 2-4 with an RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored. Gallegos had a single, an RBI, and a run scored. Warren was 2-3 with a double and an RBI. Hill had an RBI and a run scored. Cooper walked and scored a run. Bagwell scored a run. Hall was 1-2 with a stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored. Duke was 3-3 with two stolen bases, two RBIs, and two runs scored.
The first game on Friday morning was against the 5A Wichita Falls Memorial Mavericks.
Zarate singled in the first. Gallegos walked. Warren doubled to score both of those runners and make it 2-0 Pampa. Hill grounded out but scored Warren on the play and Pampa led 3-0 after one at-bat. Memorial quickly tied and took the lead 4-3 in their frame of the first.
Bagwell tripled to start the second. Duke singled on a ground ball to center to score Bagwell and tie the game up at four. Hudson singled on a grounder to third. Zarate doubled on a line drive to left to score Duke and Hudson and give Pampa a 6-4 lead. Once again, Memorial quickly answered to take the lead back 10-6 after two innings.
Pampa went down in 1-2-3 order in the third and Memorial scored three more to build their lead to 13-6.
Bagwell and Duke walked to start a threat for Pampa in the fourth. Zarate hit a grounder to score Duke and reach first on an error. This was after Duke and Bagwell both stole bases during the at-bat. Bagwell also stole home before Duke scored on the same play. Pampa cut the lead to 13-8. Gallegos then singled to center to score Zarate and it was 13-9. Warren singled on a grounder to short but Pampa couldn’t get anything else going. Final score: Memorial 14, Pampa 9.
Stat Recap Memorial game
Hudson had a hit and a run scored. Zarate was 2-3 with a double, stolen base, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Gallegos was 1-2 with a walk, RBI, and a run scored. Warren was 2-3 with a double, two RBIs, and a run scored. Hill had an RBI. Bagwell was 1-1 with a triple, two stolen bases, a walk, and two runs scored. Duke was 1-1 with a stolen base, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored.
Game two on Friday afternoon was against the 3A Early Longhorns. Hudson began the game with a single on a grounder to center. Pampa was unable to get any runs on the board and Early jumped out early to an 8-0 lead after one inning.
Hill doubled on a line drive to center to begin the second. Gowin was hit by a pitch. Duke walked and Hudson singled on a grounder to right to score Gowin and Cooper. Pampa trailed 9-2 after two innings when the Longhorns had a sacrifice fly to bring home a run. No more scoring happened the rest of the game. Final score: Early 9, Pampa 2.
Stat Recap Early game
Senior Hallie Reynolds pitched three innings, allowing just three hits, one run, and struck out two batters.
Hudson was 2-3 with a stolen base and two RBIs. Zarate had a double, a stolen base, and a walk. Warren walked. Hill was 2-2 with a double. Gowin scored a run. Bagwell had a walk. Duke had a walk. Cooper scored a run.
The final game of the tournament was on Saturday morning against the 2A Anson Tigers.
Anson jumped out early with a 3-0 lead in their half of the first inning. Zarate doubled in the bottom of the first but Pampa was unable to put any runs across. Anson added two more runs in the second to make it 5-0. Anson scored again in the third to make it 6-0.
Hudson doubled to start the bottom of the third inning. Gallegos popped out to center but Hudson scored on a wild pitch during the at-bat to make it 6-1.
Anson scored four more runs in the fourth to take a 10-1 lead. In the fifth, they extended that lead to 11-1. Pampa was unable to put any more runs across during the game. Final score: Anson 11, Pampa 1.
Stat Recap Anson game
Reynolds had three strikeouts in the circle. Hudson was 1-3 with a double and a run scored. Zarate was 1-3 with a double. Gallegos and Bagwell both walked. Cooper and Warren both had singles. Bagwell, Cooper, and Hudson all stole bases.
“Our fight and desire to win is always visible with every bat, and every play on the field. Having lost the majority of our varsity players last year, our team is learning to adapt to playing in totally new positions with completely different people. With most of my team not having varsity experience, I am incredibly proud of the way we are playing. I see growth in every single game and know the final results will start to shift in our favor,” Browning said.
Pampa travels to Canyon on Tuesday, March 3rd for a 4:30 P.M. first pitch to begin the district slate. They will come back home Friday as they host West Plains at 4:30 P.M.
“We meet up with Canyon for our first district match-up, and I'm excited to see our girls compete. We were able to see Canyon play at both of our tournaments, and we know they are a great team with a lot of depth. We were able to have a great practice yesterday to make some adjustments that will help our team be more successful in this game,” Browning said.
Browning also previewed the home opener set for Friday against West Plains.
“We turn around after traveling to Canyon for our first match-up and play our home opener Friday against West Plains. The girls are excited to play on our home field and take on the challenge of a good West Plains team. We have to make a strong showing at the plate against a very good pitcher, but we are up for the challenge,” Browning said.
