Polk County battled the rain and Owen’s Jaiden Tweed for seven innings Thursday – but came up just short in its regular-season finale.

Tweed struck out 14 and held Polk County to four hits as Owen posted an 8-4 victory in a Western Highlands Conference battle at Polk.

Rain, heavy at times, started early in the game and persisted throughout. So, too, did the Wolverines (11-6, 8-4) refuse to give up, putting together a seventh-inning rally.

Trailing 8-2 entering the inning, Polk loaded the bases with no outs as Karli Wood and Anna McFadden drew walks and Haley Fowler singled to left. One out later, Maranda Gosnell ripped a two-run double, making it 8-4.

With two outs, Ashley Ponder drew a walk to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate. But Tweed notched her final strikeout at that point to seal the win for the Warhorses (13-3, 10-2).

Owen, which finished with 12 hits, jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but the Wolverines began to battle back in the bottom of the third as Fowler walked, stole second and eventually scored on a wild pitch.

Polk County then added another run in the bottom of the fourth as Ponder scored on Karli Wood’s single.

Owen, though, pushed across three runs in the top of the sixth to extend its lead to 8-2.

Gosnell finished 2-for-2 with two walks to lead Polk County, with Fowler and Wood recording the only other hits.

The Wolverines will now await Monday’s announcement of the state 2A softball playoff pairings to learn its first-round foe and location.

 

Submitted by PolkSports.com