It’s been a whirlwind start to the fast-pitch season for the Wayne Lady Bulldogs. They’ve played eight games in the last week, including five games in the Hall of Fame Shootout in Oklahoma City.

Monday night they were in Alex where they took the loss in a close game, 7-6.

“We should have won. We were up 6-5 and couldnt get the timely outs,” head coach Megan Moreno  said.

Junior Cylie Jones went 3-4  at the plate and provided two RBIs. She singled in the fourth, doubled in the fifth and singled in the 7th.

“Cylie has been a bright spot for us. She’s batting .500, putting the ball where we need it and making good plays at second. She’s the heart of our team and she helps change the momentum when we need it,” Moreno said.

Wayne collected 10 hits in the loss, led by Jones. Audra Watts added two while Taelynn Ringwald, Maddie Moreno, Natalie Knobloch, Skie Jones and Addison Clagg each had one.

Knobloch was in the circle. She fanned seven batters and allowed seven runs (three earned) on seven hits.

Verden Festival

Through four games over last Thursday and Saturday, Wayne picked up two wins (Verden, Comanche) and lost two games (Alex, AmPo).

Despite outhitting Alex 10-3, the Lady Bulldogs couldn’t get runs across the plate and dropped their first contest with Alex.

Clagg and Knobloch were in the circle and combined for seven strikeouts.

In their win over Verden,  Watts led the team with two RBIs while Knobloch had a team-high two hits. She also earned the win in the circle, allowing three hits and one run over two and two-thirds innings. She also struck out four batters.

Once again, Wayne outhit AmPo, but fell to the Lady Panthers 5-4.

Moreno and Kobloch each had multiple hits in the loss.

The same duo was strong in the circle. Together they struck out three and allowed just two hits.

“Natalie has been good in the circle, but she’s young and still learning.”

Thanks to an Audra Watts grand slam, Wayne beat Comanche 9-8 on Saturday.

Holding a five run lead after the first inning, Wayne had to hold off the Indians for the remainder of the game.

Comanche made a charge in the second inning, scoring six runs and retaking the lead, 8-7.

Cylie Jones doubled in the bottom of the second to score two runs and help Wayne retake the lead.

Hall of Fame Festival

Wayne also played two games in the Hall of Fame Festival in OKC, but dropped both – a 7-1 loss to Okemah and a 15-0 loss to Warner.

“It’s been a frustrating few days. We’ve been playing well offensively, despite leaving too many runners on base. But we are struggling with passed balls.

“It’s been tough to figure out our best nine to have out there. But our goal is to peak as the season goes on,” Moreno said.

The Lady Bulldogs have a full week once again.

They were scheduled to host Riverside on Tuesday and added Union City to make it a double header.

They are on the road for a three-way with Wewoka and Asher on Thursday, then a three-way homestand with Bray and Maysville on Friday.

Monday they host Konawa.