Lady Outlaws drop four straight in tourney

The Sisters High School softball team knew they would see some tough action in their own Spring Break Tournament, but they weren't expecting to lose all four games.

The Lady Outlaws were forced to move their tournament to Bowlby Field in Redmond when three-straight days of snow made the Outlaw complex unplayable. Despite hosting each game, the locals lost 0-4 to Astoria, 2-5 to Cascade, 4-11 to 5A Madras and 7-8 to Astoria.

Cascade and Madras were each 3-1 and Astoria was 2-2 in the four-team event. Two teams, defending 4A state champion Central and 6A Sandy canceled due to the weather.

"We had some good moments, but with four days off, our bats were pretty quiet until the fourth inning of our third game," said coach Tom Mauldin. "Then we hit, but then our fielding abilities faded."

In the final game against Astoria, six errors led to six unearned runs and a 7-8 defeat.

Of the 28 runs allowed by Sisters, only nine were earned in the four games. Coach Mauldin noted that the pitchers did their jobs, but lapses in the defense proved a bit much to overcome.

"The tournament was good for us in that it showed us we had a lot of work still to do and that our concentration be for seven innings," said the coach. "These caliber of teams will take advantage of any miscue."

The losses dropped the Outlaws to 5-6 on the season. They open Sky-Em League play by hosting Elmira April 1, then travel to No. 1-ranked Marist on April 3.