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Top left: Renee Javorsky makes a running basket catch against during the Snyder Tournament. Top right: Kamdyn Davis hauls in a fly ball to third base. Bottom: Abby Browley snags a fly ball in deep center. Bob Henline | The Cordell Beacon -
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The Cordell Lady Blue Devils had a busy week last week, ending at the Snyder Tournament Thursday evening. The girls wrapped up the six-game week on the road with a 1-5 record.
The ladies started the week off at Hobart, where they dropped both games of a doubleheader, 3-15 and 0-15. Coach Bobby Blackburn said he was pleased with the way the Lady Devils played, but Hobart is a very tough opponent.
“There’s a reason they’re on top of the district standings,” he said. “They are a solid club in all phases. Andrea Palmer pitched well but they hit one through nine. Makenzie Hougland and Kenlee Dodd both made nice catches at shortstop and second base, respectively. In the second game Andrea struck out three and made a super play defensively, but they shut us down at the plate. We couldn’t get anything past them.”
Tuesday brought Cordell’s girls to Burns Flat-Dill City, where they fought a hard game but fell short 4-2.
“I though we were going to get this one,” Blackburn said. “The girls were really focused and played well. We had two early errors that haunted us. We were aggressive on the bases and it led to runs but we still stranded too many runners. Makenzie is really gaining confidence at shortstop. She is everywhere making some really nice plays and it continued today.”
The Lady Blue Devils wrapped up the week with three games on Thursday at the Snyder Tournament. They opened the tournament against Granite, and came away with a run-rule victory with outstanding performances from the entire team.
“Andrea struck out six,” Blackburn said. “Makenzie, Andrea, and Kamdyn Davis provided solid defense on this one. Paige [Canterberry] continued to excel in the leadoff spot with three singles. Makenzie and Kenlee [Dodd] added singles with Kamdyn drilling a gap double. Freshman Piper Gallagher hit the ball all day and had a walk-off sacrifice fly to end the game by run rule.”
The victory earned the Lady Devils an immediate turn-around to play against Carnegie. The Lady Blue Devils played solid defense, but just couldn’t hit the ball against Carnegie’s future Division I pitcher. Carnegie claimed an 8-0 runrule victory.
“They have a pitcher who has signed a D1 scholarship with North Texas,” said Blackburn. “She throws 64 mph and is unhittable most times out. Piper injured her shoulder on her first swing and had to leave the game. I do believe we played our best defense of the year. The infield was flawless and Abby Browley made a nice catch in centerfield.”
The loss to Carnegie put Cordell against Sentinel in Thursday evening’s elimination game. After back-to-back games and a five-hour wait, the Lady Devils were just out of gas and came up on the short end of an 8-0 scoreboard.
“Taking nothing away from Sentinel, but after a five-hour wait we were flat,” Blackburn said. “We just didn’t have anything left in the tank. Renee Javorsky and Abby Browley made several nice catches in the outfield before Renee and Makenzie had a collision in short left. Renee held on to the ball but had to leave the game with a mouth injury. Paige and Makenzie each singled.”
As Cordell’s season nears its end, Blackburn stressed how proud he is of the progress his team has made since the beginning of the season.
“I said back at the beginning of the season that we were young and inexperienced, we cannot use the scoreboard as our measuring stick,” he said. “We will use our progression and improvement to measure that. With that being said, I am extremely proud of my girls. We have improved each week. I can see the results daily and the girls are learning more every time we hit the field.”