Split keeps Tigers in front of SEK

Fort Scott's Jade Weeter tries for a slap bunt early in the first game of a doubleheader versus Iola at Don Hewett Field Monday evening. Weeter bunted her way on base and went on to score the game-winning run in the bottom of the 16th inning for the Tigers, who split the Southeast Kansas League twinbill.(Kenny Felt/Captured Images)

Jade Weeter had to go through a lot of heck before finding a heavenly ending for Fort Scott High's softball team in a marathon first game of a Southeast Kansas League doubleheader versus Iola at Don Hewett Field Monday night.

Weeter probably had just about everything go wrong on the basepaths and with her slap bunting over the course of the first 13 innings. But in the bottom of the 16th, things finally went her way.

Weeter led off that inning by reaching on a slap bunt. She moved to second on Elise Nation's sacrifice bunt, got to third when Erin Coffman singled and scored when Peyton Riedel's two-out grounder was misplayed to give the Tigers a 3-2 win in what is probably the longest game in school history.

Fort Scott senior Erica Davis throws a pitch to an Iola batter during the first game of a Southeast Kansas League doublehader with Iola at Don Hewett Field Monday afternoon. Davis struck out 24 Fillies in 16 innings of work as the Tigers won the marathon opener, 3-2. Iola won the second game, 4-2, to salvage a split of the twinbill. (Kenny Felt/Captured Images)

Fort Scott couldn't keep the momentum going into the second game as Iola went out to a 4-0 lead and held on to win the nightcap 4-2.

However, Fort Scott's first-game win was enough to keep the Tigers in first place in the SEK with a 10-1 league mark and an 11-2 overall record. Iola stayed one-half game behind at 10-2, 11-3.

The Fillies play four more league games this week while the Tigers have just two remaining at Chanute Thursday. Iola does have the advantage of playing host to the two worst teams in the SEK, Pittsburg (Thursday) and Parsons (Friday). But in order to take the SEK, Iola would have to win all four games and hope Chanute can manage to split with the Tigers.

Before Riedel could drive in Weeter with that game-winning run in Monday's opener, the Tigers had to be in the position to win. Pitcher Erica Davis helped with that by turning in one of the better pitching days in state history.

Davis struck out 24 Fillies over the course of 16 innings. What makes that even more remarkable is that 14 of those came in the extra nine innings.

The defense behind Davis didn't have its best day but was able to collect itself whenever it made a mistake and rally to make the big play -- the dive for the foul ball behind the backstop, the backhanded stab at second or the running, lunging catch in the outfield.

Case in point, Iola got two runners on in the top of the 13th when pitcher Alex Hill doubled and the defense dropped an easy fly ball Jenna Sigg hit. That put runners on second and third with one out.

But catcher Erin Coffman dove for a pop up for the second out of the inning and Davis handled a line drive and made the toss to first to get out of the inning.

When things started about three hours prior, it seemed like it was just going to be a typical softball game. Iola scored first in the top of the first inning as Sigg reached on an error, advanced on a Megan Cook single, then scored on two wild pitches.

But Fort Scott answered in the bottom of the inning. Nation reached on an error, going to second on the play. Coffman singled, then stole second. Nation tied the score on a throwing error and Riedel brought Coffman home with a double for the 2-1 lead.

The Fillies tied it in the top of the fourth. Amanda Carr bunted her way on with one out and stole second. Codi Ellis brought her in with a single.

Iola could have had more as they loaded the bases with two out. But Davis struck Cook out to end the inning.

No one would have suspected at that time that it would remain tied at 2-2 for 12 more innings.

Hill was matching Davis for the most part. She ended up striking out 16 batters herself and only one of the three runs she allowed was earned.

Fort Scott got two on with two out in the bottom of the fourth. But Hill got a strikeout to get out of the jam. The Tigers also had two on with one out in the fifth, two on with nobody out in the sixth and a runner on second with one out in the seventh.

The Fillies managed to get a runner to third with one out in the fifth and had runners on second and third in the top of the seventh.

The Tigers had a chance in the 11th, loading the bases with no one out. But Fillie right fielder Codi Ellis snagged a line drive, then threw a strike to home to get the runner from third out. Another fly out ended the inning. Fort Scott also had two on with two out in the 12th but saw that inning end on a ground out.

Davis (11-2) walked only one batter in her 16 innings. She gave up 14 hits but never more than one in any inning after the fourth. Hill surrendered 18 hits and two walks.

There were a combined 128 at-bats, 32 hits and 36 runners left on base in the opener.

Coffman and Riedel each went 4 for 8 at the plate for the Tigers. Sammi Newton and Amanda Bowles were each 3 for 7. Weeter went 2 for 7.

Cook went 4 for 8 to lead the Fillies' offense. Hill was 3 for 7 and Sigg and Molly Riebel each had two hits.

The effort it took to win that first game must have taken something out of the Tigers in the second game. Iola was up 2-0 after one inning and 4-0 after three.

Cook tripled in Lyndsi Faulhaber to get the first run across. Then Sigg got Cook home with a groundout to third.

In the third, Faulhaber singled to left. Morgan Buchholz's two-out grounder was misplayed into a three-base error, scoring Faulhaber. Buchholz scored on Kylie Taylor's single.

The Tigers got both their runs in the sixth. Riedel lined a one-out triple to center and Kelsey Middleton reached base on an error. Newton doubled in Riedel and Bowles scored Middleton on a ground out.

Fort Scott tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh, but Iola got a fly-ball line-drive out and doubled a runner off second to end the game.

Hill allowed on earned run on seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts. Newton was the only Tiger with two hits.

Faulhaber was three for four for Iola while Cook went two for four.

NOTES -- Because a game like the opener doesn't happen often, the full box score will be presented here instead of just the linescore, just so you can see the unusual numbers a 16-inning game presents. The normal linescore will be presented for the second game.

For some of the extraordinary numbers there will be in the box score, there are some that are not in it that may be more remarkable. For instance, there were only four wild pitches in 16 innings and none came after the third....

According to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Web site, the record for strikeouts in an extra-inning game is 34 by Jessica Hoppock of Wichita Haysville-Campus in a 2003 game against McPherson. The Web site did not say how many innings the game went....

Game One

x -- Batted for Taylor in 12th; Taylor re-entered.

y -- Batted for Ellis in 15th; Ellis re-entered.

z -- Did not bat; DP batted for her.

x -- Ran for Coffman in 7th; Coffman re-entered.

y -- Ran for Riedel in 10th; Riedel re-entered.

z -- Struck out for J.Harper in 6th.

Iola.......... 100 100 000 000 000 0 -- 2 14 3

Fort Scott...200 000 000 000 000 1 -- 3 18 5

Two out when winning run scored.

E -- Taylor, Faulhaber 2, Davis 2, Coffman, Bowles, Newton. DP -- Iola 1.

LOB -- Iola 18, Fort Scott 18. 2B -- Cook, Hill, Coffman, Riedel. S -- Buchholz 2, Carr, Nation. SB -- Hill 2, Sigg, Riebel, Carr, Coffman 2.

WP -- Hill, Davis 3. PB -- Taylor.

Game Two

Fort Scott...... 000 002 0 -- 2 7 2

WP -- Hill. LP -- Davis (11-2).

HR -- none.