Published: October 09, 2008 09:39 am      

Lady Demons in driver’s seat with sweep

Duncan needs one win to advance to fourth straight state tournament

DUNCAN — When the lights came on, the Duncan softball team turned it on.

The Lady Demons scored four runs in the fourth inning to defeat Chickasha 4-0 in the winner’s bracket game of the Class 5A Regional. Judy Dines picked up the shutout in a four-hit performance and Allison Edwards was 2-for-3 to lead the team offensively in what may have been its best game of the year.

Duncan advanced to the winner’s bracket with a 11-1 win over Western Heights earlier in the day. The team is now in position to advance to its fourth state tournament in a row with one win today against the winner of Chickasha and Noble, who play at 3 p.m. today. The survivor of that game will have to defeat Duncan twice to keep its season alive. The Lady Demons will take the field at 5 p.m. with another game at 7 p.m., if necessary.

“We have played 36 games this season and tonight was by far the most important one that we have played,” Duncan coach Robert Cowan said, “but it’s not over. I’m just happy for the girls. They were ready from the word go.”

Both Chickasha and Duncan were ready from the word go, as each team went scoreless in the first three innings. Kenzie Kennedy led off with a single to account for Duncan’s only hit in the first three innings against Lady Chick pitcher Morgan Singleton.

The first time through the Lady Demon lineup, Singleton logged six strikeouts. The senior would finish the game with nine, while giving up six hits in the loss.

“I’m telling you, I think she throws harder than anyone that we have seen and she was on,” Cowan said.

Duncan pitcher Judy Dines was also on. The senior gave up four hits on the night and was backed by a strong effort defensively. The Lady Demons did not commit an error on the evening, making plays and limiting the damage once Chickasha did put a runner on base.

Of the six Chickasha base runners, only two advanced into scoring position and none as far as second base. The defense cleared two of the runners on a double play and a pick-off throw by Sarah Harper in the seventh. Harper also picked off three base runners on the game against Western Heights.

“I probably haven’t been this pumped up for a game before,” Dines said. “This is my senior year and I want to go to state again. I was real comfortable out there today with everybody in the field.”

Dines’ comfort zone grew in the fourth inning when a Duncan offensive outburst gave her plenty of breathing room.

With one out, Harper hit a liner to the gap for a standup double. Madison Pewitt followed with a single to score the first run of the game and advanced to second on the throw home. Ashley Green then traded positions on a similar play and the Lady Demons were in business with a 2-0 lead.

The run continued when Edwards got all of a Singleton offering and sped around the bases for a triple. The junior displayed her speed again when she took home on a passed ball that the Chickasha defense was slow to react on. She would also hit a single in the seventh inning.

“I just like hitting off of fast pitching,” Edwards said. “I fell like I can hit it harder. I felt really good and I needed it. I haven’t been hitting the ball lately.”

The four runs were all that Dines would need as she would shut down Chickasha in the next three innings to earn the win.

It was Pewitt that earned the win against Western Heights. The junior gave up her only run of the game in the first inning as the Lady Demons struggled with defending small ball. The Lady Jets loaded the bases with no outs and put one run across the plate on a walk by Pewitt who also struck out three in the inning.

A mid-inning sprint by the team helped put it back in gear as it would answer with three runs in the bottom half of the first. The Lady Demons added six runs in the fourth and another three in the fifth in a run-rule win.

Ashley Green went 3-for-4 with two RBIs to lead a Duncan offense that finished with seven hits on the game. Western Heights did the most damage to itself, issuing nine walks and hitting three batters.

Pewitt gave up six hits and struck out seven while giving up one walk for the win.