Four-titude: Tigers win pair of 1-run games, become 1st to win 4 straight SEK titles outright

Fort Scott outfielder Karlee Stanley makes a diving catch of a Shayla Schaper line drive to end the top of the fifth inning of game one at Don Hewett Field Friday afternoon as shortstop Katie Gorman looks on. Stanley came up to bate in the bottom of the inning and delivered a 2-run double to get the Tigers on the board. (Scott Nuzum/Tribune)

Fort Scott High School made Southeast Kansas League history Friday night at Don Hewett Field when a sweep of Independence made the Tigers the first team to win four consecutive outright league softball championships.

Only one other school has accomplished a softball four-peat. Former member Columbus won four in a row from 2002-05 but had to share the last of those crowns with Fort Scott.

The Tigers had to survive a pair of one-run games, rallying to win the opener 5-4 then holding off a Bulldog rally to prevail 12-11. But Fort Scott's 43rd victory in its last 44 league games allowed it to remain undefeated in league play at 10-0 and improve to 15-3 overall.

Katie Gorman makes it to third base after hitting a game-tying 2-run triple in the bottom of the seventh inning of game one. Gorman scored the winning run when Taylor Krokroskia followed her hit with a single. (Scott Nuzum/Tribune)

The Tigers are now three games ahead of Chanute (5-3, 8-8), which passed Independence without playing, with two remaining. And they're four up on the Bulldogs (6-4, 13-5), who also lost both games of a league doubleheader at Pittsburg Thursday night. The Purple Dragons (6-4, 7-11) are tied with the Bulldogs.

Independence has lost three or more SEK games in a row for the first time in five years. Fort Scott's last loss in league play came in the second game of the final twinbill of the regular season last year at Chanute.

Indy scored the first 3 runs of game one in the top of the first inning. Fort Scott had 3 hits in the bottom of the second but was unable to score.

The Tigers finally got on the board in the fifth. Bailie Brown led off with a single to right-center. Then Jenny Denton singled to left. Skyelar Brown followed up with another hit that scored B. Brown. J.Denton was thrown out at third on the play but S.Brown moved up to second on the throw. She moved to third on a passed ball and scored on Karlee Stanley's single to bring Fort Scott within 3-2.

Indy scored in the top of the sixth when Hannah Burnett's 2-out single up the middle got away from the outfielders, allowing her to make it all the way back to home plate.

J.Denton led off the bottom of the seventh with a single that dropped in front of the charging center fielder. S.Brown was hit by a pitch and Maddie Jones went in as a pinch runner. Stanley bunted the runners over.

Katie Gorman then belted a triple off the top of the wall in centerfield to bring Denton and Jones home, tying the score. Taylor Krokroskia singled up the middle to bring Gorman home with the winning run.

Fort Scott had 10 hits in the game, 3 from Denton and 2 by B.Brown. Indy pitcher Morgan Mavers didn't walk anyone and struck out 5.

Lane Bohlken (10-2) allowed 3 earned runs on 4 hits and 5 walks while striking out 3.

Although Independence scored first again in game two, scoring twice in the top of the first inning, the Tigers came back with 6 in the bottom of the frame to take the lead. They added another in the bottom of the second to make it 7-2.

The Bulldogs scored 4 in the top of the third to cut the deficit to one run. But the Tigers scored 2 in the fourth and fifth and one in the sixth to make it 12-6. Seemingly, that would have been a large enough lead.

But it almost wasn't as Independence scored 5 times in the top of the seventh. Lysssa Schabel drove home Courtney Day with a 2-out double to cut the lead to 12-11 and moved to third on the throw home.

Kyley Brown (3-0) managed to get the game over by inducing Shayla Schaper to fly out to Krokroskia in center to end the game.

Burnett, Schabel and Aburee Lawrie each had 3 hits off Brown, who allowed 9 earned runs on 11 hits and 2 walks with one strikeout.

Bohlken, who played third base in game two, was 4 for 5 for the Tigers and scored twice. Krokroskia, K.Brown, S.Brown, Stanley and Emily Hale each had 2 hits.

K.Brown drove in 3 runs, 2 on a fifth-inning single. Hale had 2 runs batted in, those coming on a single during the first inning.

The Tigers close out the regular season with a home league doubleheader with Chanute Thursday.

Game One

Fort Scott.......................... 000 020 3 -- 5 10 1

One out when winning run scored.

WP -- Bohlken (10-2). LP -- Mavers.

HR -- none.

Game Two

Fort Scott.......................... 610 221 x -- 12 16 3

WP -- K.Brown (3-0). LP -- Schabel.

HR --none.