By Chuck Reherman
Sports Editor
EDMOND – Twelve days after starting, Yukon and Edmond Santa Fe were finally able to get their district 6A-2 game finished.
And, the Millerettes needed a seventh inning rally to come away with the win.
Kaylee Witte’s two-run scoring single in the top of the seventh rallied the Millerettes to a one-run lead and YHS held on to pull off a 7-6 win over the Lady Wolves at Santa Fe.
The game had started on Aug. 22 and the Millerettes led 4-0 after two and one-half innings when the game was halted by the weather. Yukon returned to Santa Fe Tuesday and after seeing the Lady Wolves score six times in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Millerettes put together a seventh inning comeback to secure the win.
The Millerettes improved to 10-3 overall and 3-1 in district play. YHS will travel to Westmoore on Monday night for the second game of their district series. Westmoore handed the Millerettes a 10-3 loss on Aug. 20.
“It was a hard game to play,” Millerette head coach Katy Hoke said. “We were halfway through the game, coming off a long weekend and not having school and anytime you are having an athletic event and you are out of your routine it is hard to dial it in.
“We had some good, solid hits that they (Santa Fe) made good plays on,” she said. “We had a couple of errors in the sixth inning that they scored some runs on, but we had a good gut check and we came back and took care of business in the seventh. I was glad to see that.
“Both sides were just going through the motions for a while. We started the game back in the third with two outs and we had a hit, then the third out and we were done for that inning. It was just hard to get momentum and get into the groove on a game like that. It is hard no matter who you are playing.
“Santa Fe is not a bad club, they fought hard and didn’t quit and we didn’t either. We were just glad we came out on top.”
Santa Fe used two Millerette mistakes and four singles to score their six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and rally to take a 6-4 lead.
The Millerettes didn’t let the comeback rattle them as Hannah Hurtz led off the inning with a double and A.J. Rayburn reached on an error on a bunt to put the tying run on first base. Makenna Johnson’s RBI single drove in Hurtz to cut the lead to 6-5.
After a walk to Ashlyn Bruce, Witte drove a single to centerfield sending in Rayburn with the tying run and Johnson with the go-ahead run. The Millerettes, with the bases loaded after Maddie Montgomery reached on an error, had a chance to add to their lead. Santa Fe got the next three batters out to stay in the game.
But, Kaylee Bradley sent the Lady Wolves down in order in the bottom of the seventh to seal the win.
Two-run scoring base hits from Bruce and Montgomery had spotted the Millerettes to a 4-0 first inning lead. YHS loaded the bases after Hurtz and Rayburn singled and Johnson drew a walk.
Bruce singled in the first two runs of the game and Montgomery followed with a two-run scoring double.
Hurtz led the Millerettes with a 3-for-4 day at the plate. Witte with 2-for-4 with two RBIs, Johnson 2-for-3 with one and Bruce and Montgomery both drove in two runs with one hit.
“We needed that district win,” Hoke said. “We need to win the rest of our district games to make sure to reach that goal of hosting a regional tournament.
“We have worked a lot of defense and basic fundamentals in getting ready to play Westmoore on Monday,” she said. “How to field a ground ball, how to charge a ground ball. The outfield, how to get through a ball and where we are going. We have worked on a lot of situational things, hitting the ball in spots. It has been all about the basics.
“With having a couple of days of practice, we have time to work on those things and that it what wins you a ball game.”
The Millerettes will also host Midwest City on Thursday. The game will also be pink out night. The varsity will play at 6:30 p.m.
The team will hold a fund raiser for the late Gage Krupovage. Gage passed away this past Sunday after battling Chordoma cancer, a rare type of cancer.
The family will attend the gamed and his little brother Xander will throw out the first pitch. Funds raised will help the family with expenses.
