Lady Buffaloes blow out Hugo, eye more wins in McAlester festival

HUGO – McAlester softball snapped its losing streak with a big 17-0 run rule win over Hugo Tuesday.

During their streak, the Lady Buffaloes (4-5) dropped games to strong teams like Byng, Tahlequah, Shawnee and Durant. But they shook off the rust Tuesday in the win over Hugo.

The McAlester bats came alive on the road, recording 16 hits and 13 RBIs. Carsyn Sutterfield went 3-for-4 and Emerson Hollis went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead the Lady Buffaloes.

Sam Shafer struck out four and walked none during her four innings in the circle.

The win could prove to be a launching pad for the McAlester festival.

Festival play begins Thursday at Mike Deak Field. The Lady Buffaloes start things off with a matchup against Wilburton. The Lady Diggers are 5-8 on the season in Class-2A but have won three of their last five games.

McAlester hasn’t played Wilburton yet this season, unlike the rest of their festival opponents, but they both have played Atoka. The Lady Buffaloes defeated Atoka 6-4 at home but Wilburton dropped the contest 7-1 at the Pittsburg tournament, coach Trent Homer said.

“I know their coach, he does a good job,” Homer said. “We have a common opponent with Atoka and they lost to Atoka. We beat Atoka, so I anticipate it being a pretty good game.”

Later that day, McAlester will seek to get a win over a team in Byng which defeated the Lady Buffs 17-3 Aug. 14. The Lady Pirates are 11-3 in Class-4A and come into the festival having won their last three games by a combined 37-1.

Homer knows his squad will need to have a better showing to hang with the Lady Pirates.

“We’re going to have to pitch better and play better defense and score more runs,” Homer said. “We’re just going to have to play all around better to beat them.”

McAlester’s final game will come Friday afternoon when it rematches with district opponent Shawnee. The Lady Wolves were added to the festival late to fill an opening and the game will not count toward the district standings.

Shawnee got the best of the Lady Buffaloes twice last week. McAlester dropped the first game at home 10-0 then lost the next one 13-2 on the road. Homer expects his team to come in with more confidence knowing what to expect out of the two opponents which defeated them.

“I think the fist time we saw them we were a little wide-eyed,” Homer said. “We didn’t know what to expect and then after the game it was, ‘oh it wasn’t that bad.’ So I think we know what to expect and going into it, knowing the speed of everything, I think we’ll be better.”

McAlester kicks off festival play against Wilburton 10 a.m. Thursday at Mike Deak Field.

McAlester Festival Schedule:

— Wilburton 10 a.m.

— Byng 3:15 p.m.

— Shawnee 3:15 p.m.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →