Lady Tigers handle Naylor in OFC kickoff

DONIPHAN – The Neelville Lady Tigers didn’t hold back in the first round of the OFC tournament as they downed their first opponent to advance to the semifinals. The Lady Tigers easily took down the Naylor Lady Eagles on Monday by securing a 15-0 win at the Donettes Softball Field.

Head coach Daniel Sexton is all about the Lady Tigers playing fast and setting the tone early. He said it’s been their plan all season, and now they’re piecing everything together.

“I feel good about this win because we’ve been putting the ball in play more in recent games,” Sexton said. “The last couple of days have been pretty good with hitting. We did really well at the Swing Pink tournament, and we’re trying to keep it all together, just trying to focus on finishing out the year strong. The girls tend to step up when things are tight, so the goal is to piece together the little things and stay focused.”

The Lady Tigers jumped out to the lead in the bottom of the first inning after a wild pitch scored three runs, and Miah Martin singled, scoring two runs. A wild pitch extended the Lady Tigers’ lead to 8-0 in the bottom of the second inning.

The Lady Tigers kept the energy from the plate going by scoring seven runs on four hits in the bottom of the third inning. Nicole Akers singled, scoring two runs, Resse Dobbins doubled, scoring one run, Parker Ernst singled, scoring one run, and Delayni Dobbins singled, scoring two runs.

September Preslar started in the circle for the Lady Tigers and took the victory. The starting pitcher surrendered one hit and zero runs over three innings, striking out four and walking one. Peyton Hopkins stepped in the circle first for the Naylor. The starting pitcher gave up seven hits and 15 runs (14 earned) over two and one-third innings, striking out three and walking eight.

Akers, Dobbins, Jade Crosswhite, Ernst, Dobbins, Martin, and Preslar each collected one hit for the Lady Tigers, while Ernst, Dobbins, and Martin each drove in two runs. The Lady Tigers snagged 10 stolen bases, with Dobbins, Hover, and Callei Moss each stealing multiple bases for the game. Gracie Rhul led Naylor with one hit in one at bat.

The Lady Tigers will play Twin Rivers in the semifinals on Tuesday at 4 p.m.