No. 2-ranked Edmond North softball team ran away with the win over the No. 5 Broncos in the sixth inning of a rematch Monday in Mustang.
Both teams have lineups stacked with reliable hitters, but the Broncos struggled early in the ring. Senior Jamie Rateliff followed starting freshmen pitcher Kodi Jones and senior Shelby Dill as the third pitcher by the third inning.
“We've got to find more consistency in the circle,” Mustang Head Coach Tim Wade said.
It was looking good for the Broncos in the first and second innings as they took the 8-1 lead. Senior Courtni Clark cranked an RBI-double along the left-field chalk, which ushered walked-on junior Shelbi Legg back to the dugout. Rateliff hit an RBI single at her first plate appearance.
Strength from top to bottom of the Broncos' lineup was displayed when freshman Laci Joyner poked a two-RBI single to left center field.
Mustang's discipline at the dish put up three runs on walks in the second inning. Sophomore Stormi Miller jumped on the first pitch and gave the Broncos a seven-run lead with an RBI single.
The Huskies dug out of the 8-1 hole in the third inning to get ahead by one. Edmond's Kady Self had the first and last hits of the inning with a single and two-RBI double. Mustang gave up runs on three walks, an RBI single, an error at second base and a sacrifice hit.
Dill hit a 200-foot-long ball over the center field fence with Rateliff on second. That put the Broncos back in the lead, 10-9, in the fourth inning.
Self swatted an RBI single in the next round, but the Broncos answered with an RBI double that bounced against the left center fence by junior Kierra Miles.
Edmond North's sticks sizzled in the sixth inning to make it a five-run game. A single to left center drove in the tying run. Lead-off hitter Sheridan Bond belted a two-RBI triple down the right-field line. A sacrifice hit to junior Kyndra Holasek at shortstop made it 14-11. The Huskies closed the scoring drive with a two-RBI double to left.
Bond picked up her fourth RBI with a single in the seventh inning. Hopes of a late comeback were diminished by Self's three-run homer, which gave her six RBIs and the Huskies a 20-11 lead.
“You can't take anything away from Edmond North. They swing the bats well,” Wade said. “The Self girl — she's already committed to OU (University of Oklahoma). She's just a great, fundamentally sound hitter.”
Mustang's record moved to 11-6 six Monday. That was their second loss to the Huskies after a 3-4 defeat in week two.
The Broncos breezed by the Choctaw Yellowjackets for a 9-0 win Tuesday. Miles knocked a home run on the third pitch of the game. Mustang scored five consecutive runs in the fourth off Legg's two-RBI single, an RBI double by Clark and an two-RBI double by Rateliff.
Mustang hosts No. 17 PC North Tuesday.