Lady Racers Tie with Mac, Outlast El Reno in Del City

DEL CITY— Mike Crossley has seen just about everything in four decades of coaching softball — but even he shook his head when Newcastle’s opener against Lawton Mac ended in a tie thanks to the drop-dead rule.” The Lady Racers wore the odd finish, then answered with a composed 2–1 win over El Reno to close Saturday’s slate.

Game 1 — Newcastle 3, Lawton MacArthur 3 (drop-dead rule)

Lawton MacArthur opened the scoring in the first when Olivia Santos rolled a run-scoring groundout. Newcastle flipped the inning in the home half as Baylee Tate roped a two-run double to the gap for a 2–1 lead. In the third, Adie Loman punched an RBI single through the left side to extend it to 3–1.

The Highlanders answered in the fourth—Grace Adair’s RBI groundout cut it to one and Addison Meyer followed with a game-tying single. Both staffs traded zeros from there, and when the time limit hit, the opener went into the books as a 3–3 tie — a rarity across Crossley’s 40+ years on a rail. Newcastle applied pressure all afternoon with five stolen bases, including two by Kaydence Rogers.

STAT BOX (G1):

• Newcastle Hitting: Baylee Tate 1–2, 2B, 2 RBI; Adie Loman 2–2, RBI; Team SB: 5 (Rogers 2).
  
• Newcastle Pitching: Madi Folds 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO; Loman 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO.
  
• Lawton MacArthur Hitting: Alicia Nance 2–3; Meyer, Santos, Adair 1 RBI each.
  
• Lawton MacArthur Pitching: Grace Adair 4.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO; Kaydence White 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO.
  

Game 2 — Newcastle 2, El Reno 1

Newcastle did its scoring in the first trip through the order. Adie Loman lifted a sacrifice fly for a 1–0 edge and Baylee Tate followed with a run-scoring double to center to make it 2–0. That proved enough for Loman, who scattered six hits in a five-inning complete game, allowing just one run with three strikeouts.

El Reno kept the pressure on — Amalie Kalcevova posted a 2-for-3 line and pitcher Zoey Pawnee helped herself with an RBI — but the Racers’ defense turned a double play and Loman stranded traffic late to lock down the 2–1 decision. Bubba Torrenueva went a perfect 2-for-2 to pace Newcastle’s hit column, while the Lady Indians turned two twin-killings to keep it tight.

STAT BOX (G2):

• Newcastle Hitting: Loman SF, RBI; Tate 2B, RBI; Bubba Torrenueva 2–2; Team DP: 1.
  
• Newcastle Pitching: Loman 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO.
  
• El Reno Hitting: Kalcevova 2–3; Pawnee 1–3, RBI; Team DP: 2.
  
• El Reno Pitching: Pawnee 3.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO; Kalcevova 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.
  

Next up: Newcastle returns Monday vs. Harrah to wrap 4A-1 district play.