Submitted photos

Mattie Woodbury hitting the ball against Nyssa.

On Tuesday, May 11, the Hilander softball team defeated the Nyssa Bulldogs 9-2, in their last home game of the season.

Seniors Allie Hueckman, Kaiden Raif, and Hallie SkunkCap were honored before the game for senior’s night.

Both teams were held scoreless in the first inning. The second inning saw Nyssa jump on the scoreboard 2-0 on a hit and errors. Burns answered right back, scoring two runs of their own, tying the game 2-2.

The Hilander defense shut down the Bulldog offense for the rest of the game, not allowing a single run for the next five innings. Burns got three batters across home in the third and added another four in the fourth, sealing the victory for the Hilanders.

With the win, Burns softball is 9-1 on the season and undefeated in league play.

In seven innings of work, freshman Ayla Davies struck out 17 batters, allowing only three hits and one walk.

Sophomore Lacy Tiller led the team in batting, going four for four. Sophomore Mattie Woodbury and Hueckman each had a double and a single. SkunkCap added two singles, and sophomore Macy Temple, sophomore Merissa Medley, and Raif each had a hit.

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For the first time, the Burns Hilander softball team took the district championship title! Burns secured the championship by defeating the Enterprise/Wallow/Joseph Outlaws 3-2. 

With the win, the Hilanders earned one of the eight spots in the state 3A championship tournament. This is the second time they’ve made it to the postseason.

The Outlaws and Hilanders were held scoreless until the fifth, when Kaiden Raif and Mattie Woodbury both hit singles. Raif was able to steal third, and Woodbury stole second. The next batter, Ayla Davies, batted Raif in for the first run of the game. Macy Temple followed with a single that drove Woodbury across the plate, giving the Hilanders a 2-0 lead, going into the sixth inning.

Merissa Medley started off the sixth with hitting a double to the fence. Medley then stole third and then home, scoring on a fielding error by the Outlaws.

The Outlaws were able to score a run in the bottom of the sixth, cutting the Hilander lead to 3-1.

Burns was held scoreless in the top of the seventh. The first Outlaw batter hit a home run to reduce the Hilanders’ lead to 3-2. The next batter was fielded out by Hallie SkunkCap, followed by a strike out from Davies. Woodbury caught a fly ball for the final out of the game and sealed the victory for the Hilanders.

Davies earned the win from the pitcher’s circle with 13 strike outs and allowing three hits over seven innings.

Medley led the team in batting, hitting a double and two singles. Davies and Macy Temple each hit two singles, and Woodbury and Raif added one single.

With the win, the Hilanders are 10-1 on the season and 6-0 in league.