Sallisaw posted a 6-3 win in Game 2 and then beat Roland 7-3 in Game 3 to win the best-of-three district softball series and advance to this week's regional tournament.
The victories came two days after Roland topped Sallisaw 7-4 in Game 1 on Wednesday, when the Lady Diamonds were coming off back-to-back doubleheaders. Sallisaw head coach Tasha Beaty thought her team was more mentally focused on Friday afternoon.
"We were a little tired after Monday and Tuesday and weren't mentally prepared to play on Wednesday. I think the ladies knew what they needed to do today and came out here and accomplished it," said Beaty.
"We said from day one that we wanted to win a district championship and we were going to work hard to get where we needed to be," added Beaty, still dripping from getting soaked in a postgame victory celebration.
Junior hurler Amy Smith pitched both games for Sallisaw and allowed just one walk in 14 innings while claiming a pair of wins.
"Amy really stepped it up. This was a big game for her and she stepped up and showed a lot of leadership out on the mound. That's a big part of pitching and she did that well," said Beaty.
Sallisaw 7, Roland 3 (Game 3)
Five different players drove in runs for Sallisaw as the Lady Diamonds clinched the district title in Friday's late game.
Sophomore third baseman Lyndsey Daggs led the way for Sallisaw, batting 2-for-3 with an RBI. Amy Smith, Courtney Crooks, Erin Cox and Jessica Duvall also drove in runs to help the Lady Diamonds run their record to 17-13.
The key inning was the bottom of the third, when Sallisaw broke a 1-1 deadlock with a three-run rally. Molly Hadley led off with a single, stole second base and scored on Smith's RBI single. Crooks drew a bases-loaded walk to bring another run and Duvall made it 4-1 when she was hit by a pitch with the bases still loaded.
Erica Robertson's hit led to a Roland fielding error in the bottom of the fifth and Cox and Shelby Morgan both scored off the miscue to extend the Sallisaw lead to 6-1.
Roland pulled within 6-3 in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Maggie Kolp and a Sallisaw error, but Cox responded with an RBI single for the Lady Diamonds in the bottom of the inning to make it 7-3.
The Lady Rangers got two runners on base in the top of the seventh, but Smith got the third out to seal the win for Sallisaw. The right-hander had four strike-outs and one walk to get the victory.
Kolp paced Roland by batting 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI singles. Freshman Chelsea Matlock added three singles and shortstop Natalie Pe
