Bronchos bucked

The Lady Broncho softball team found out how good it could be when it defeated No. 10 Wilson last Friday. Monday night, it learned another lesson the hard way.

Taking on a Fort Cobb-Broxton team that leaves no room for error, Central High could do nothing but. The Lady Bronchos committed nine errors and dropped a 5-1 decision to the No. 5 team in the state.

Krista Sparks navigated the minefield of mistakes as best she could, giving up eight hits and no earned runs in the loss. Morgan Hood led Central High at the plate, going 2-for-4 on the afternoon.

“We beat ourselves,” Central High coach Chad Weldon said. “We got to have a leader step up, we need a leader on the field.”

As mistake-prone as Central High was, it had its opportunities in the game. The Lady Bronchos had a runner thrown out at the plate in the second inning and loaded the bases with no outs in the third yet only scored one run. The home team also had another runner thrown out at the plate in the fifth.

“You have to take chances against a team like that,” Weldon said. “It took a perfect shot to get her.”

Central High saw a sign of things to come in the first inning when the first Lady Mustang base runner reached on an error. Fort Cobb would place two runners on with two outs but Sparks battled back from an 3-0 count to get a strikeout looking and end the threat.

The Lady Bronchos also flirted with trouble in the second inning and in the third, it caught up with them. Three errors led to two runs in the inning, giving Fort Cobb a 2-0 lead.

One good turn deserved another in terms of shaky defensive play and Central High was able to load the bases as Fort Cobb struggled to execute as the Lady Bronchos played small ball.

Amy Benton drew a walk to lead off and Chelsea Hinkle reached on a fielder’s choice off a bunt as a throw to second was late. Lindsey Johnson laid down another bunt and Fort Cobb was once again slow loading the bases.

Kaitlin White grounded out and scored Benton and it was all the runs Central High could generate as a strike out looking and a ground ball ended the inning.

The Lady Mustangs began to pull away with runs in the fourth and fifth inning. In each instance, a crucial error put Central High in a hole it could not close. Offensively, the Lady Bronchos bats were only able to muster four hits, two of which came from Hood.

The other two hits for Central High cam in the fifth. Hinkle led off with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. Johnson followed with a single to centerfield. Hinkle raced home but came up short as the ball was waiting for her.

Central High will be back in action today when it hosts Walters.