SHAWNEE – Putnam City saw an early lead evaporate after Shawnee scored four runs in the fifth inning for a 6-4 win Tuesday (Aug. 20).

The Lady Pirates scored first in the opening frame. Dahlia Hickerson singled to right field. Sophomore Tessa Goodner smoked a ball to left and came around to score on an inside-the-park home run to give Putnam City an early 2-0 lead.

Shawnee answered in bottom of half of the inning when two walks and a double tied the game at 2-2.

The Lady Pirates re-took the lead in the third inning. Sophomore Francis Meza singled and fellow sophomore Samantha Tidmore reached on an infield error. Lorelai Morales singled Tidmore home to give PC at 4-2 lead.

Putnam City coach Brooklyn Sparkman said her young players found themselves in a unfamiliar position.

“It all comes down to never really being in the position of having the lead in games before,” Sparkman said. “They haven’t had the opportunities to understand how to get the lead, but also how to keep the lead. It’s just something that we are going to learn the more we play.”

Shawnee took advantage of that inexperience in the fifth inning plating four runs on a walk, two errors, two double and a single.

Hickerson finished with a 3-for-4 day with a run scored. Goodner went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in.

Despite the loss, Sparkman saw some bright spots.

“Our team is very young and improving everyday,” Sparkman said. “We are still finding which piece fits where throughout the lineup but I’m happy with how most of them swung it today.”

After cancellations and postponements in the first week of the season, the Lady Pirates finally got to play a game.

“It’s so exciting to finally see them hit the field as a team,” Sparkman said. “There is so much potential within this group and I know that we will put it all together soon! We are in the process of rebuilding, so It’s not how we start, but it’s all about how we finish!”

UP NEXT

Putnam City will play in the Kingfisher Tournament Friday and Saturday (Aug. 23-24).

TEAM	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Putnam City (0-1)	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	4	6	1
Shawnee (1-3)	2	0	0	0	4	0	X	6	6	3