Road games abound

Thanks to spring weather the kick off to conference play for the Lexington Lady Bulldogs has gotten complicated.

Head coach Steve Blair and his team were in Dale on Monday for games with Blanchard,  and Newcastle.

The Lady ‘Dawgs beat Blanchard 24-19 and lost to the Lady Racers 3-2 in extra innings.

According to the coach, Lexington was down 17-0 and made a furious comeback with 17 runs of their own in the third inning.

They would score seven more runs in the game and hold Blanchard to just two more.

“We had girls in different positions and that opened it up for Blanchard.”

Abby Turnpaugh and Izzy Pack each had homeruns in the high scoring inning.

“Timely hits helped us to get back in the game. Abby and Izzy’s homeruns were a needed spark.”

In the loss to Newcastle, the score was knotted at two-all after seven innings.

The Lady Racers held Lexington in the top half of the eighth and scored one in the bottom half to seal the win.

They traveled to Blanchard on Tuesday to face Dale.

“I challenged the girls to get off the bus and be ready to play. We had a rough start on Monday, but we can come out and play from the first inning.”

Lexington Lady Bulldogs round out their week with a trip to Dibble on Friday.

Last week, the Lady ‘Dawgs went 2-2 in the Harrah tournament. They picked up a 10-6 win over Weatherford and a 9-0 win over Norman High.

They dropped a 18-2 loss to Dale and a 13-7 loss to Norman North.

In the loss to Dale, Leslie Barber and Madilyn Dunn scored Lex’s two runs. Barber, Pack and Abby Sample were each 2-2 at the plate.

Turnpaugh was a bright spot for the Lady ‘Dawgs in the loss to Norman North. She went 3-3 at the plate with an RBI. She also scored three runs.

Dunn was also 3-3 at the plate.

Marissa Northrup and Abi Clifton were each 2-2 at the plate.

“The loss to North was frustrating because we beat them earlier in the season,” Blair said.

The Lady ‘Dawgs kept it close for the first three innings, but the Lady Timberwolves had a 7-run fourth inning to break the game open.

Lexington beat Norman North 13-6 in their first game of the season on March 7.

Bats were hot in the win over Weatherford. Ryli Harmon was 2-4 at the plate with two ribbies and she scored a run.

Pack and Dunn each had an RBI.

Once again, in the Norman High win, Turnpaugh was the leader at the plate. She was 3-3 and scored three runs. Barber was also 3-3 at the plate and scored two runs.

Dunn and Pack had an RBI a piece.

According to Blair the beginning of the season has gone well.

“I’m proud of how everyone has stepped up. They have the next man up mentality.”

With conference play starting the coach believes his squad will be competitive.

“We’ve only seen Dale so far and they’re good. Our pitching has kept us in games and we have had consistent hitting.”

Third baseman Kiely Givens is out for two weeks which has the coach shifting infield duties.

Baylee Rillema has stepped in on the hot corner for Givens. Madilyn Dunn moved to second from short stop and Marissa Northrup moved to second. Abi Clifton shifted to right field and Emilee Pierce is seeing time at catcher.

“We’re still tweaking our lineup to figure out what’s best. But, girls that haven’t had as much playing time are getting to play and get experience,” Blair said.

The Lexington Lady Bulldogs have a 4-5 record.