Sat, Nov 22 2008
|
Published October 08, 2008 12:15 am - 6A regional softball at Enid Muskogee (19-10) vs. Putnam City North, 12:30 p.m. Enid vs. Stillwater, 10:30 a.m. Losers at 2:30 p.m., winners at 4:30 p.m. Also: 5A regional softball, at McAlester Tahlequah (20-9) vs. Ada, 1:30 pm. Rougherettes seek to live up to coach’s forecast By Kenton Brooks Phoenix Sports Writer
Back in August, Mack Chambers, the Muskogee fastpitch softball coach, made a brash statement that might have some questioning his sanity. “I look for us to be in the state championship with a chance to win it,” he told the Phoenix in the preseason. With the Rougerettes starting Class 6A regional playoff action today, Chambers still stands by what he said and his players don’t think he was crazy for saying it. “Yeah, it was a strong prediction,” he said. “These girls have been on the field since they were freshmen and now they’re juniors. They’ve been in the big games. This is our third regional to play in and the players are more mature.” Muskogee, 19-11 for the season, opens regional play at 12:30 p.m. against Putnam City North at Enid. Enid meets Stillwater at 10:30 a.m. Meanwhile, Tahlequah, 20-9 and riding an 11-game winning streak, begins 5A regional action at 1:30 p.m. against Ada at McAlester. McAlester faces Tulsa Edison at noon. Pitcher Lacie Burch (15-9), the lone senior on the Rougherettes’ roster, remembers reading what Chambers said and agreeing with it. “I believed every bit of it because we’ve come a long way since last year. We beat Jenks twice this year,” she said. “”We worked really, really hard over the summer. I don’t think we could’ve done it last year but there’s no doubt that all of us think we can do it all this year.” Muskogee got a break in scheduling this year, playing at Enid rather than Broken Arrow, which has knocked the Rougherettes out of the playoffs the last two seasons. “It’s an opportunity to go somewhere different and play,” Chambers said. “It’s a long way from home and they’ll have more fans. Enid’s a good team, but they’re not Broken Arrow. We also can’t look past Putnam City North.” If the Rougherettes head to regionals with confidence, it comes from, strangely enough, a 3-2 loss to Broken Arrow, the 2006 state champion, late last month. “That told us we’ve come a really long way since the beginning of the season,” junior center fielder Madison Reed said. “We haven’t played Enid this year, but we’ve beaten teams they’ve played. I think we have a really good chance at going to state this year. “We have so much athletic ability on our team that the other teams don’t know what we have. Everyone’s matured. We’re going to do a lot better in the playoffs.” The 6A-5A state tournament is Oct. 16-18, while 4A Fort Gibson and 3A Sequoyah begin state tournament play Thursday in Oklahoma City. 
•
Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.
More from the Sports section
Quarterback showdown brewing in Norman Hornets sting Thunder in return to Oklahoma City Paris gets 100th double-double in OU win Two Bacone runners become school’s first to compete in national meet |
Print this story
E-mail this story
Post to del.icio.us
Discuss this story
 |
 |
 |
|||||||
|
|||||||
 |
|
|
© 2008, The Muskogee Phoenix P.O. Box 1968; Muskogee, OK 74402 (918) 684-2828 Email News tips & feedback |
|
Popular Business directory links - Muskogee Apartments | Muskogee Attorneys | Muskogee Auto Dealers | Muskogee Auto Parts | Muskogee Auto Repair | Muskogee Beauty Salons | Muskogee Car Rental | Muskogee Dentists | Muskogee Doctors | Muskogee Flowers | Muskogee Hotels | Muskogee Insurance | Muskogee Loans | Muskogee Mortgages | Muskogee Movers | Muskogee Pizza | Muskogee Realtors | Muskogee Restaurants | Muskogee Storage | Muskogee Tax Preparation | Muskogee Travel | Muskogee Featured | More...
|
|
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. • CNHI Classified Advertising Network • CNHI News Service |