The Lady Indians broke open a close game by taking advantage of three Sallisaw errors in the inning to score seven runs.
"We started the first five innings playing decent, but you've got to put together a seven-inning ballgame," said Sallisaw head coach Tasha Beaty.
Both teams had five hits in the contest. Sallisaw was led at the plate by senior catcher Erica Robertson and freshman third baseman Morgan Kostka. Robertson batted 2-for-3 and Kostka went 2-for-2. Senior pitcher Ashley Covington had the other hit for the Lady Diamonds.
Stilwell took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Susie Means hit a two-run double. Covington pitched three scoreless innings after that, but Sallisaw stranded five runners on base and couldn't cut into the Stilwell lead.
Brittany Wilkie earned the win for Stilwell after tossing a complete-game shutout.
Beaty was disappointed with the way the Lady Diamonds finished the game on Tuesday, but felt they competed well in the first five innings.
"You have to keep the other team's runs down to three or four. If we can do that, then we'll do all right," said Beaty. "We've got a lot of young, green kids. We just have to be mentally ready."
Sallisaw dropped to 0-1 with the setback and will try to bounce back on Friday afternoon, when the Lady Diamonds travel to Muldrow for a 4:30 p.m. clash.
