By T. Scott Boatright
Cedar Creek’s early lead didn’t hold up in the long run Saturday as the Opelousas Catholic Lady Vikings rallied for a 4-2 win in Division IV Select School softball playoff action at Lady Cougars Stadium.
Playing while riding strong emotions while seeing injured teammate Allie Furman introduced as a starter before being announced as a pregame scratch – Furr tore her ACL in Cedar Creek’s second round win over Ouachita Christian and took the field for Saturday’s starting lineups on crutches – the Lady Cougars struck first with catcher Peyton Muse walking before being replaced by pinch runner Olivia Lee, who scored on a double slapped by Lillian Soto.
Opelousas Catholic tied things up with a run in the top of the fourth inning before taking a 3-1 avantage in the top to the fifth on a pair of runs aided by fielding errors committed by the Lady Cougars.
The Lady Vikings’s final run came on a solo homer in the top of the sixth inning.
Cedar Creek coach Julie Riser admitted her team was playing with heavy hearts.
“We gave it our all and played well,” Riser said. “Obviously, losing Allie was a big deal. And they felt it. The team I had out there gave it all they had. They just came up short.
“I’ve coached Allie and Lillian since sixth grade. They’ve always been all in since then. It’s hard to see them go but I appreciate the time they’ve put in.”
Riser also admitted putting Furr in the starting lineup was somewhat of an afterthought.
“I got here and started filling out the lineup and she wasn’t on it. And I struggled with it. So we talked about it and I just started her and subbed her out before the game started. I talked to her about it and it was emotional, but she was good with it.
“She started every game here since she started playing. So today was no different.”
