Aug. 25—It was almost as if the Lady Cardinals purposely gave Westville a false sense of security.

Verdigris surrendered three runs on three hits in the first inning, but for coach Brian Keith's squad, the result was never in doubt. The Lady Cardinals easily made up the difference in the bottom half with 13 runs and continued to pour it on after that, cruising to a 23-3 victory in District 4A-6 action Tuesday afternoon.

Verdigris (7-3 overall, 2-1 in 4A-6) punished the Lady Yellowjackets with 20 hits, including a home run and two doubles, during the rout. Eight players finished with multiple hits, led by Taelynn Ballinger, Grayce Taylor and Evie Lemery with three apiece while Emma West, Rhyan Waltonbaugh, Reagan Bennett, Kaydence Bender and Presley Tipton each had two.

Lemery paced that group with four RBIs, and her impact was felt on the defensive end as well.

The sophomore peppered Westville (1-10, 0-3) with seven strikeouts on 67 pitches through the five-inning run rule, allowing four and two walks in addition to those early runs. More than 64% of her pitches resulted in strikes.

It was her first significant appearance in the circle this season, for she came in having thrown only 21 pitches in relief during the Lady Cardinals' 13-3 win over Poteau on Saturday in the Kellyville Festival.

At the plate, Lemery's first hit against Westville was a 3-RBI double to center field to increase the lead to 8-3 in the first. She followed with an RBI single in the second that made it a 20-3 spread.

As for the aforementioned home run, Waltonbaugh was responsible for that. Her two-run shot over the center-field wall capped the explosive first inning.

Although Verdigris managed eight hits in the first, it somehow managed to outdo itself with nine hits in the second. Much like in the first, the Lady Cardinals nearly went through their entire lineup twice.

Verdigris returns to tournament action Thursday as it hosts half of the Northeast Oklahoma Softball Classic. It will play Oktaha JV at 10 a.m. before entertaining Rogers County foe Inola at 2:30 p.m.

Play will continue on Friday, with the Lady Cardinals taking on Adair and Ketchum at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively. Pool play results will determine who and when they play Saturday at Lincoln Christian.