One win from state tournament

Despite an early deficit, a crucial injury, and an ejection, the Cedar Creek softball team remained strong and defeated No. 13 Ouachita Christian 12-7 Tuesday to advance to the Division IV Select quarterfinals.

Creek will host No. 5 Opelousas Catholic later this week with a trip to the state tournament in Sulphur on the line.

The No. 4 seeded Lady Cougars took care of business behind an all-around big day at the plate as they weathered the storm of losing two regular starters.

Senior catcher Peyton Muse went 3- for-5 with 5 RBIs and a first inning home run, while Mallory Smith was 4-for-4 with 3 RBIs, and Lizzie McAdams went 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs on a 2-run home run of her own.

The first of Muse’s 5 RBIs came at the perfect time, starting her night with that 2-run blast in the bottom of the first to give Creek the lead back after OCS leadoff Ava West hit a solo shot to give the Lady Eagles a brief 1-0 lead.

OCS never held the lead again.

“I think we were prepared. They were ready,” Creek head coach Julie Riser said postgame. “We talked about their pitchers and what we needed to look for and just kind of keeping our approach.”

The Lady Cougars plated four runs in the first on three extra-base hits and a 2-run single from Smith to get the momentum back on their side.

From there, Creek starting pitcher Chloe Brashear kept the Eagles scoreless over the next three innings while her offense plated seven more runs that proved to be the needed insurance before the game was over.

In the second, Muse collected another RBI on a single to center, scoring senior shortstop Allie Furr before the Lady Cougars blew the game open with six runs in the third.

Smith started the scoring with an RBI triple before Muse brought in two more runs on a double to left and Lillian Soto’s RBI single made it 9-1 Creek. McAdams’ blast would come on the ensuing at bat as she drove in Soto and herself on her 8th HR of the season.

“Everybody had really good at bats, and that’s all I can ask for is for them to be patient and wait for their pitch and give good at bats,” Riser said.

Muse, Furr, Soto, and Smith all finished with at least two hits, and the person least surprised about Muse and the rest of the seniors’ collective performance was Riser.

“She’s just a leader,” Riser said of Muse. “She’s our catcher, so she’s a leader and she’s just determined – and all of our seniors are that way. They work in practice. They’re just ultra-focused, and I think she just had a good day. She’s been squaring balls up, but they haven’t always been base hits.”

As Creek led 5-1 in the bottom of the third, Furr hit a ground ball to third base and attempted to beat out the throw, lunging to the bag and landing awkwardly and taking a hard fall in foul territory.

Riser and fellow assistant coaches, along with Allie’s father Chip, tended to her injury and helped her to her feet and back to the dugout, where she remained the rest of the night.

With a 10-run lead on their side, Riser knew the safe move was to let her senior leadoff hitter rest and attempt to play in the quarterfinals. Hydi Boyd, an 8th grader, replaced Furr in the game.

“We had a big lead, so I felt comfortable we were going to win the game, and it made sense to sit her,” Riser said. “After that, I was comfortable with who we put in, and she’s an eighth grader so it’s different. But I think because we had so many other seniors that they kind of picked it up and helped her pull her slack.”

The Lady Cougars had another hurdle to overcome later in the top of the fifth with OCS getting runners on second and third with one out.

With McAdams pitching in relief for Brashear in the inning, a hard line drive was hit Brashear’s way at third, with the senior recording the out and then appeared to tag the OCS runner before she could get back to the bag safely.

Both teams ran to their dugouts, thinking the top half was over. But after umpires met to decide the call, the field umpire ejected Brashear for what was determined to be a malicious tag, with the umpire deciding Brashear pushed the runner off the bag, despite calling the runner out initially on the tag.

“I understand it looked bad, but it was just a quick tag,” Riser said postgame. “She was trying to get the tag on her. It looked like she just knocked her over, but it was a tag on an off-balance runner.”

Riser argued with the umpire on his change of mind, including removing the out and giving OCS another at bat with two outs and a runner on base. The Eagles eventually flied out to officially end the frame, but Riser was still left puzzled by the call.

“How did she do that, you called her out?” Riser recalled postgame. “And he said, ‘I didn’t say out. I ejected her.’ And I said, ‘why would the other team run off the field? Both teams ran off the field.’”

According to Section 5.11.6 of the LHSAA handbook, a player ejected from a contest for unsportsmanlike or flagrant conduct, “shall receive an official warning. Additional penalty: Any student athlete who is ejected from an LHSAA sanctioned contest shall be required to take the NFHS Learn Sportsmanship course. The course shall be completed within three school days of the ejection.”

Bottom line, Brashear is eligible to play in the quarterfinals.

Creek and Opelousas Catholic met in the regular season on Feb. 25, with the Lady Cougars winning 17-6 on the road.