Blake Colston
sports@piedmontnewsonline.com
Piedmont’s Ashlyn Brown and Chloe Bohuslavicky carried on despite the chaos around them Thursday.
Playing in their first state tournament game, both saw a calamity of errors and miscues swing momentum from side to side throughout the contest. It didn’t seem to bother either player, though.
Brown went 3 for 4 with three RBI’s and Bohuslavicky pitched a complete game four-hitter without allowing an earned run as Piedmont beat Shawnee 10-6 in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state tournament at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
“Just to be able to help my team get those runs in in my first state tournament game feels great,” Brown said.
Piedmont (29-6) will play in the state semifinals against the winner of Durant and Woodward Friday at 1:30.
The sophomore duo watched Thursday as the Wolves (24-11) and Wildcats combined to make 11 errors – seven by PHS – in the game. Brown and Bohuslavicky each had one miscue themselves, but they never lost their composure.
Even when Shawnee took its only lead of the game with a pair unearned runs in the bottom of the third.
“I was thinking we needed to clean it up,” Brown said. “But we needed to keep our energy up and not let it affect us because we knew we could get it back.”
Piedmont answered a half inning later with seven runs off two critical dropped fly balls by Shawnee. After PHS tied the game at two, Brown doubled to give the ‘Cats the lead for good.
“To be able to do that out here felt great because I haven’t been hitting that well lately,” she said.
Piedmont strung together five consecutive run-scoring hits in the inning.
“We’ve been a team all year that when we get on a roll we’re pretty good,” head coach Keith Coleman said.
In the sixth, Shawnee scored a run on an error by Bohuslavicky and plated another on a two-out bloop single to trim Piedmont’s lead to 9-6. That brought Oklahoma State commit Tatum Sparks to the plate as the tying run.
Bohuslavicky regrouped to get a weak ground out to third from the Wolves best hitter to end the threat.
“Chloe is that kind of kid,” Coleman said. “She’s a competitor and she’s pitched a lot of innings with a lot on the line in her life playing softball. When she throws well she gives us a chance. Great job by her today.”
Bohuslavicky struck out two in the seventh sandwiched around a nice play by shortstop Cozee Clark on a line drive to end the game.
Coleman said there are no bad state tournament wins, but that, realistically, his team won’t be able to make seven errors again and win.
“Obviously we’re going to have to play better going forward, but it doesn’t matter how you win,” Coleman said. “We’ll take it.”
Catcher Ellie Griffin went 3 for 4 in the game for Piedmont. Senior Noodle Owen was 3 for 4 with two RBI’s.
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