A trip to Tulsa for the Northeast Oklahoma Classic fastpitch softball tournament resulted in a continued unblemished record for Newcastle.
T he Racers began this week with an 11-0 overall record.
Highlights of the Northeast Oklahoma Classic included a 5-0 victory over Class 6A Tulsa Union, and an 18-1 win over Bishop Kelley.
TheRacersalsobeatLincoln Christian, 8-0, and the Kansas Comets, 7-1.
Last week, the Racers beat Harrah, 10-0, and Bishop Mc-Guinness 25-1.
Coach Mike Crossley said the Racers had some good wins, going 4-0, in the tourney.
He said their toughest game was the one against Union.
“It was a hot day, a Thursday, and the second game of the day,” Crossley said. “We jumped on them 5-0, and then we kind of lost interest in them. We can’t do that. We have to keep fighting and pushing all the way through.
He said Tulsa Union was not too bad of a ball club, but the weather was extremely hot.
The Racers played host to McLoud on Monday and then traveled to Perkins-Tryon Tuesday and to Dibble today (Thursday).
The McLoud and Perkins-Tryon games were both District games.
Crossley said, “We have got to be ready to play in the district games.”
The Racers follow those games with a District matchup against Classen School of Advanced Studies on Monday, and then attendance at the September7-9Dale-Tecumseh Tournament.
Crossley said the competitiont should be good at this tournament, and the Racers won’t have Aubree Ferguson pitching. He said this will give the Racers’ other pitchers some playing time, and the team should face some adversity with the ball possibly in play more often.
“That’s not a bad thing,” Crossley said.
In the game against Bishop McGuinness,threeRacershad two home runs each. Brooklyn Lyles, Lilyana Portillo, and Vanessa Portillo each hit the round trippers.
“Six home runs in one game, and that is impressive,” Crossley said. “I don’t care who you are playing.”
All three each had home runs in the Lincoln-Christian Tournament, too.
Crossley noted that the Racers have a “sturdy” lineup at bat.
He said, “We have a couple of others in the front of the lineup in Maddie Torrenueva and Lexie Lovelace. They do a good job of getting on base.”
He added that Meredith Strange “has been a good stick this year.”
Crossley said, “We have a good defense, but the outfield has been playing well, and Aubree has done a great job pitching. When you have good pitching, it makes the defense much easier.”
