All along, Mack Chambers has insisted Muskogee’s fastpitch softball program was state-tournament capable.

Tuesday’s contest with No. 2 Broken Arrow was one of those painful illustrations of supporting evidence to that fact — a 3-2 defeat loaded with what-ifs.

Like, what if a suicide squeeze play had been executed properly in the sixth inning.

Or, what if third base hadn’t been abandoned on a sacrifice bunt that put what became the winning run at third in the top of the seventh — a run that became just that after Muskogee rallied with two runs in the bottom of the seventh.

“It’s all about execution,” Chambers said. “We took ourselves out of a chance to make it a one-run game by botching the squeeze play and then let their girl get two bases on a sac bunt because we don’t cover defensively.

“It’s frustrating, knowing that we’re that close.”

On the bright side, the Rougherettes (17-11) more than made up for the first meeting between the two teams back in August, where they fell 12-1 at BA. It took four innings for someone to solve BA lefty Chelsea Lyon, who retired the first 11 batters before Jordan Clark’s two-out single to left. Clark had two of the four hits off Lyons.

“I was just watching her come with it from her hip and I started to find a rhythm,” Clark said. “We just had too many stupid mistakes.”

A two-run single to left by Brooke Scott put BA on the board after baserunning blunders ran them into a pair of rally-dampening double plays in the first and third frames. Right fielder Hy-cie Stancle doubled Devyn Frazier off first with a one-out catch of a fly ball by Stephanie Brewer in the first inning and Ladarra Brown’s snagged line shot off the bat of Megan Sullivan started another twin-kiilling when her toss to first caught Forrest off the bag.

It stood 2-0 through the bottom of the sixth when MHS had a chance to cut into the lead. Laura Fleck led off the inning and moved to third on Stancle’s bunt. But with Tori Venable up, a squeeze play call was apparently missed. Subsequently, Tigers catcher Kelsi Hildebrandt had Fleck like a dead duck off third for an easy pickoff. Venable then became the eighth strikeout victim of Lyon, who finished with nine.

BA would make it 3-0 when Scott, who was hit by a pitch, moved all the way to third on a sacrifice bunt. Third baseman Venable was playing in and third base was left unattended, moving Scott to third. She then scored on Forrest’s single.

Muskogee got close enough to, well, increase the pain. Emily Emberson’s sacrifice fly scored Madison Reed, who drew a leadoff walk, and Brown singled to right to plate Clark, who collected her second hit on a single to left.

Losing pitcher Lacie Burch (14-9) allowed seven hits.

The Rougherettes host the Muskogee Festival on Saturday.