The varsity slowpitch softball programs from Preston and Dewar met last Thursday at the Jim Waller Sports Complex in Preston.

The host Preston Lady Pirates came out of the Top 15 county battle (Preston is ranked 6th in Class 4A; Dewar is ranked 13th in Class 2A) with a 15-11 decision.

The Preston squad was back in action last Friday with a trip to Tahlequah for a 3-team showdown with Tahlequah and Fairland. (See today’s edition for complete details of the Lady Pirates’ road trip last Friday.)

The county battle was the final regular-season game for the Lady Dragons, who were scheduled to open postseason play Monday at home in a Class 2A district tournament that also featured Gans and Cave Springs.

In last Thursday’s county softball battle in Preston, the visitors opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first. The host Lady Pirates plated three runs in the bottom of the inning for a 3-1 advantage.

Both teams pushed across five runs in their half of the second to keep the Preston lead at two, 8-6, after two innings of action.

The Preston squad tallied a run in the bottom of the third, then added three in the fourth for a 12-6 lead.

The Lady Dragons made it a 12-8 contest with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, while the host Lady Pirates plated a run in the last of the fifth and tacked on two runs in the sixth for a 15-8 margin.

The Dewar squad attempted to overcome the 7-run deficit in the top of the seventh, but managed just three runs in their last at-bat of regulation to award the host Preston Lady Pirates the 15-11 decision.

Taylan Starr was the top offensive performer for the Lady Pirates in the county battle, finishing 4 for 4 with two singles, two doubles, and 3 RBIs. One of Starr’s RBIs came in the third on a sacrifice fly.

The duo of Jaiden Harley (3 for 4, 3 singles, 2 RBIs) and Karris Tecumseh (3 for 4, 2 singles, double, RBI) were next for Preston with three hits each, while Celeste Pineda (2 for 4, 2 singles, RBI), Kristen Houlby (2 for 4, single, double, RBI), and McKenna Jones (2 for 4, 2 singles, RBI) also recorded multi-hit games for the Lady Pirates with two hits apiece.

The final three Preston base hits in the county battle came on singles by Kinlee Basquez, Jadyn Roberts, and Na’Braijhanae Phillips. Roberts drove in one of the five Preston runs in the second with an RBI fielder’s choice.

The Lady Dragons were led offensively by Gracie Johnson, who went 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs at the plate and was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Johnson had a single in the fifth, double in the first, and a 2-run home run in the second for her three base hits in the contest.

Kinsey Maldonado also had a multihit game for Dewar last Thursday, finishing 2 for 4 with two singles and an RBI.

The remaining Lady Dragon base hits in the county contest came on singles by Bre Harvell, Ally Burney, Jaycee DeTurk, and Brailee England, an RBI single by Danielle Baker, a 2-run double by Maikya Carter, and 3-run home run in the seventh by Melanie Burney. Harvell drove in one of the five Dewar runs in the second with an RBI groundout.

--- Thursday, April 13 Preston 15, Dewar 11

Dewar: 1-5-0-0-2-0-3 11 - 12 - 4 Preston:3-5-1-3-1-2-x 15 - 19 - 1 WP: Josie Cope LP: Brailee England HR: Dewar: Gracie Johnson, Melanie Burney