Rilyn Stringfellow was already making life miserable for Catoosa from inside the circle.
Then she stepped into the batter's box and made it even worse.
Stringfellow fired a 3-hitter and went 3-for-3 with a home run and a double Tuesday as Verdigris remained unbeaten with an 11-1 victory over Rogers County rival Catoosa in District 4A-7 action.
The Lady Cardinals improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in district play, while the Lady Indians fell to 6-4 and 4-3.
Stringfellow controlled the game from both sides.
She allowed only 3 hits and a run over 7 innings, striking out 7 and walking 2. At the plate, she singled and scored in the first, blasted a solo home run in the third and doubled and scored in the sixth before drawing an intentional walk in the seventh.
She had plenty of help in a Verdigris lineup that pounded out 16 hits.
Brinlee Murray and Taber Ennis joined Stringfellow with 3 hits apiece. Murray drove in 3 runs, while Sydney Lewis also finished with 3 RBIs, all coming on a bases-clearing double during a decisive 6-run fourth inning.
Catoosa's Brooklynn Scott accounted for 2 of the Lady Indians' 3 hits, going 2-for-3. Ella Remington drove in their only run.
Lewis, Stringfellow and Hadlee Jefferson delivered consecutive singles in the first to load the bases with one out.
Catoosa managed to cut down Lewis at home on Shay Melson's bunt, but Stringfellow later scored on a passed ball to give the Lady Cardinals a 1-0 advantage.
Verdigris left two runners stranded, keeping Catoosa within striking distance, but Stringfellow made sure the slim lead held up.
She retired the Lady Indians in order in each of the first two innings, striking out 3 of the first 6 batters she faced. Catoosa finally collected their first hit on Scott's two-out single in the third, but Melson snagged a line drive at third to end the inning.
By then, Stringfellow had also given herself another run to work with.
She drove a solo home run over the center-field fence in the top of the third to double the Lady Cardinals' advantage to 2-0.
One inning later, Verdigris broke the game wide open.
Paisley Martindale drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on Ennis' sacrifice bunt. Connelly Mitchell singled to put runners at the corners, and Murray dropped down an RBI bunt single to score Martindale.
Gray followed with another single to load the bases before Lewis delivered the biggest swing of the afternoon, driving a 3-run double to left field that cleared the bases and stretched the advantage to 6-0.
The Lady Cardinals finished.
Lewis stole third and scored when Stringfellow reached on a throwing error, and Stringfellow eventually came around on Melson's RBI single to left.
Six runs had crossed the plate before Catoosa escaped the inning, turning a competitive 2-0 game into an 8-0 Verdigris advantage.
Murray added another run in the fifth. Ennis led off with a single and moved to second on Mitchell's sacrifice before Murray doubled to left to bring her home for a 9-0 lead.
The Lady Indians finally broke through against Stringfellow in the bottom half.
Hernandez walked and moved to second on Swarer's sacrifice bunt. After another walk and Scott's second single loaded the bases, Remington hit an RBI single to third that brought Hernandez home.
The bases remained loaded, but Stringfellow limited the damage to one run by inducing a flyout to right.
She immediately helped get that run back.
Stringfellow doubled to open the sixth and moved to third on Jefferson's sacrifice bunt. Melson's groundout brought her home, restoring Verdigris' nine-run advantage at 10-1.
Murray supplied the final run in the seventh. Ennis singled, stole second and scored on Murray's third hit of the game to make it 11-1.
Catoosa elected not to give Stringfellow another opportunity to do damage at the plate later in the inning, intentionally walking her with the bases loaded.
It didn't matter.
Stringfellow finished the job herself in the bottom of the seventh, striking out the first two batters before the Lady Indians reached on the Lady Cardinals' lone error of the game. Scott then popped up to Stringfellow in the circle for the final out.
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