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Konawa softball upsets No. 2 Ringling
 
By Wire Reports
Published: 10/13/2009  8:36 PM
Last Modified: 10/14/2009  11:58 AM

 The Konawa Tigers have to be feeling a little bit of state tournament ‘mojo’ heading into their Class 2A semifinal showdown with Healdton at Hall of Fame Stadium.

Konawa (28-7 and ranked No. 7) got a spectacular pitching performance from junior right-hander Melanie Gladden and another clutch hit from senior first baseman Sara Reeves in a 2-1 quarterfinal upset of No. 2 Ringling Monday. The battle between the last two 2A state champions was played in a steady, misting rain, and after the win, the Tigers had to be seeing similarities between this season and 2007, when they captured south central Oklahoma’s first fastpitch state title in more than half a century.

In 2007, the No. 1 seed in 2A (Oktaha) was beaten in the first round by No. 8 Haskell, 1-0; on Monday, No. 8 seed Drumright upset No. 1 Washington, 2-1. Two years ago, Konawa -- ranked No. 2 after winning 38 of 39 games heading into the state tournament -- faced the No. 3 team in 2A (Apache) and won a thriller, 2-0, in nine innings on a two-run single by Reeves.

The Tigers will meet No. 3 Healdton in the semifinals on Friday.

Gladden’s impressive effort Monday -- three hits, no earned runs and a season-high 14 strikeouts -- was reminiscent of the way All-Stater Hilary Kuestersteffen dominated opponents during the 2007 title run, and, perhaps most importantly to anybody who believes in the numbers, Konawa won its only other title on a Tuesday (after the 2A championship game was delayed from the previous Saturday night by rain), and, weather permitting, the Lady Tigers were scheduled to play their semifinal -- and the championship game at 2 p.m. if they can get past Healdton -- 104 weeks to the day after they beat upstart Haskell to claim the 2007 crown.

“They want it right now,” veteran Konawa coach Jennifer Matthews said of her club after Monday’s victory. “Everybody wants the ball hit to them, Melanie wants to pitch it, and they all want to hit.”

With hits hard to come by against Ringling ace Mindy McElroy, pitching and defense -- two keys to a late-season surge during which the Lady Tigers had won 18 of 20 games heading into the state tournament -- became critical, and Konawa had both.

Gladden (24-7), the second baseman on the 2007 fast-pitch squad, was, considering the opponent, as good Monday as she has been at any time in her two seasons as Kuestersteffen’s replacement. She allowed only an unearned run in the second and struck out at least two batters in five of seven innings, including the side in the first, second and seventh, and, although Ringling (27-3) had baserunners in every inning but the first and the seventh, the Lady Devils managed to get only two runners into scoring position -- both in the second inning, when they scored their only run.

After the teams swapped ugly runs in the second, Konawa scored the eventual game winner in the bottom of the third. Cheyanne Terry, moved to the leadoff spot in the lineup before the district tournament, beat out an infield hit on a swinging bunt up the third base line leading off the inning, but she was still at first when Reeves -- moved the cleanup spot in the order as part of Matthews’ postseason shake-up -- came to bat with two outs.

Terry stole second on the second pitch to Reeves, however, and Reeves drilled McElroy’s next offering to the wall in right-center to give Konawa the lead.

McElroy, who also replaced an All-State pitcher (Hope McLemore) this fall, allowed just one hit the rest of the way to finish with a five-hitter, but the Ringling offense never seriously threatened against Gladden -- who gave up singles in the fourth, fifth and sixth before striking out the final four hitters she faced.

“Lately, Melanie has been throwing real well,” Matthews said of Gladden, who threw first-pitch strikes to 20 of 27 hitters and finished with an amazing 84 strikes from 105 pitches. “She seems to get better every time out.”

After striking out the first four hitters she faced, Gladden hit Baylee Butler with a 1-2 pitch. Cassandra Stephens then laid down a bunt to the left side, and everybody was safe when Konawa third baseman Sydney Stoup was late on a throw to second base. Both runners moved up on a passed ball, and Butler scored on an error on the play, with Stephens advancing to third with one out.

But after issuing her only walk of the game to Jessica Grace, Gladden struck out Lauren Goodman and Ashley Rutledge on seven pitches to avoid further damage, and the Lady Devils never got another runner into scoring position.

Reeves led off the Konawa second with an infield hit, then Christina Gladden blooped a bunt over McElroy’s head and also legged it out for a single. Both runners moved up on a one-out sacrifice by Brooklyn Akerman, but McElroy appeared to be out of the innning when she struck out Nikki Nail. The third strike skipped past catcher Shelby Gandy, though, allowing Reeves to score the tying run.

Reeves and (shortstop) Christina Gladden -- two of eight Konawa starters Monday who also played on the 2007 squad but the only two who started at the same positions where they opened the state tournament two years ago -- both finished 2-for-3 to account for all but one of the Lady Tigers’ five hits off McElroy.
By Wire Reports

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