By Blake Colston
Sports Editor
OKLAHOMA CITY – Piedmont’s Karissa Fiegener had never lost in the state tournament entering Thursday’s Class 5A quarterfinal vs. Duncan.
Fiegener and top-seeded Piedmont were never in danger of seeing that streak snapped. The senior shortstop finished 4 for 5 with a home run, a triple and six RBI’s as the Lady Wildcats cruised past the Demons 14-2 in six innings.
“At the state tournament, you hope your best players play well and she did today,” head coach Keith Coleman said. “Hopefully she can do it again tomorrow.”
Piedmont (38-3) is seeking its second straight state title and third in four seasons. The Lady Wildcats embraced the atmosphere produced by an overflow crowd that packed the stands at Integris Field on Thursday. PHS was as poised and confident as ever.
Next up for Piedmont is a matchup with Carl Albert Friday morning at 11. The Titans are one of three teams to defeat the Lady Wildcats this season. They advanced with a 1-0 win over Pryor.
“There’s pressure, but at the end of the day you just have to go play and do what you can,” Fiegener said. “You can always rely on your teammates in pressure situations.”
Fiegener, a Grand Canyon University commit, is now 7-0 in state tournament games dating back to 2019.
“Being here with my team and all this energy, it’s great,” she said.
Piedmont forced Duncan – which did not have a player on its roster with state tournament experience – to execute against the Lady Wildcats’ patented small ball attack early on. PHS in the top of the first used four stolen bases, a bunt single and a sacrifice fly to take a 2-0 lead.
“We wanted to play to get a lead early. We had a game plan to be aggressive, run the bases and bunt and see how they handled it,” Coleman said. “We want to put pressure on kids, especially young kids.”
“It was a good way to get in their heads a little,” added Fiegener, who scored Piedmont’s first run after swiping second and third base following a single.
From there, Coleman let Piedmont’s big bats do the heavy lifting. The Lady Wildcats totaled six extra-base-hits and plated 12 runs in a three-inning stretch that spanned the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
“After we got a lead, I wanted us to go to work offensively,” Coleman said.
Taybor Moss, Tylar Short and Tayvin Davis all had three hits apiece as Piedmont’s offense pounded out 17 hits.
Fiegener’s mammoth two-run home run deep over the left field wall in the sixth capped the scoring for PHS. She fell a double short of hitting for the cycle.
“I was just trying to get base hits and not trying to do too much,” Fiegener said. “Being able to hit the ball and run the bases is all you want. It’s a blast.”
Piedmont starting pitcher Payten Schibbelhute lasted four innings without allowing a run while striking out four batters to improve to 18-2 this season.
“She didn’t have her best stuff, but she located well with her fastball and changeup,” Coleman said. “She’s tough. That’s why we’ve got her out there.”
Addison Underwood struck out five Demons in two innings of relief. She allowed two runs on one hit.
Catcher KK Miller went 2 for 3 with two RBI’s for Duncan (25-12), which was limited to four hits and committed three errors.
