Carney blasts way into first softball regionals
By Zach West
zwest@oklahoman.com
Carney head softball coach Kendra Barnes wasn’t sure what was more amazing – her team of just nine players winning districts for the first time ever, or the way in which it was done.
Last weekend, it was probably both.
In an astounding series of high-scoring contests, the Bulldogs won their Class B district over Paden and Mason. In five games spanning two days, 170 total runs were scored, the most coming in a 28-26 Paden victory over Carney in the first game Friday. In the four games they played, the Bulldogs averaged 18.5 runs and failed to score in only one out of 27 innings.
“It was one of those deals where the teams were scoring six or seven runs each inning,” said Barnes, in her first year as the Carney coach. “That was scary, coming into an inning knowing that you had to score a bunch of runs just to keep up. It was a lot of fun, though. It was better than sitting there walking runs in. They were hitting all over the place.”
After losing to Paden, Carney had to win two straight to advance. After winning the first contest 15-10, they took the second by a seemingly pedestrian tally of 15-7 – the lowest combined score of the tournament.
“We were really pumped going in, but then we got beat on Friday,” Barnes said. “We had to battle back, suck it up and play ball. When it was win or go home, we buckled down and won it. It was absolutely amazing.”
Even more amazing considering the Bulldogs team consists of just five seniors, one junior, two sophomores and one freshman – nine in total. With nary a winning season in school history, Carney is now 14-7 and will play at Red Oak in the regional tournament Thursday.
“When we started the season, we didn’t even know that we were going to have enough to play. Four weeks ago, I didn’t know if we were going to have enough to finish the season,” Barnes said. “Now, we’re pretty excited.”
Other interesting tidbits from the scoring barrage at Carney:
- In Carney’s 28-26 loss to Paden, the Bulldogs’ Robin O’Donnell scored in all seven at-bats, and hit two inside-the-park home runs. Teammate Haley Evans also had an inside-the-park home run in the game.
- As is the case with many small schools, Carney had to rely heavily on just one pitcher during the tournament. Rebeca Scott pitched 18 out of 20 innings on Friday, and while she gave up plenty of runs, she also notched 17 strikeouts in the process.
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