For the second year in a row Purcell came up just short in its quest for a state championship in fast-pitch softball.

The Dragons sent Verdigris packing 3-1 in the opening round and eliminated Blanchard in the semifinals for the second straight year. This time it was a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over the Lions that set up the finals with Weatherford.

Four errors and only two hits limited the Dragons in a 5-0 loss in the finals.

“Coming up short for the second year in a row hurts and there is no denying that,” admitted head coach Sarah Jones.

“We knew this year was going to be tough, we knew this year we were going to have to work harder than we did last year and we knew that we would have to make sure people knew we deserved the right to be there.

“We had a rocky start and middle of the season and a lot of people underestimated us. We would focus on not letting the outside noise affect us and we prove them wrong by our actions and we did that. We went undefeated in District play, sped past Regionals, and beat a really good Cache team twice (who easily could have been a state competitor in my opinion) to punch our ticket,” the coach said.

Hannah Whitaker was the top hitter for the Dragons going 3-9 in the state tournament. Ella Resendiz pitched 21 innings and had 24 strikeouts.

“Endings are hard and when the ending doesn’t go your way, it hurts. I hope these girls know how proud so many people are of them and they know the game of softball doesn’t define them. Their motto was G4G - Go 4 God / Go 4 Gold - and they lived up to every word in every way,” Jones said.

Two clutch hits by Whitaker and one by Maica Martinez in the Verdigris game proved to be the difference in the 3-1 victory.

But it was the semifinals against Blanchard that was amazing.

“I guarantee that if you ask the girls they still don’t know how we won that game,” Jones said. Purcell was down 5-2 in the 5th inning before they started to chip away.

“We made it 5-3 and then in the bottom of the 6th we are at the top of the lineup,” the coach said.

Whitaker lined a shot to center where the fielder made a great catch.

Vazquez drew a walk and Resendiz singled between third base and short stop. Martinez hit a hard ground ball to second and reached on an error scoring that scored Vazquez to make it 5-4.

With two out, Martinez advanced to second. Mack McKay hit a deep fly ball double to center to score Resendiz to knot the score at five-all.

With Hadleigh Harp at the plate, a passed ball moved Martinez to third.

Harp beat out the throw on an infield hit to score Martinez putting the Dragons up 6-5.

Purcell was three outs away from the finals.

A line drive to Vazquez and two pop flies to Kenna Esparza in left did the trick.

The Dragons made four errors against Weatherford and only managed two hits, one each from Whitaker and Martinez.

“We will be the first to say that our defense nor offense was at its best when we needed it to be,” Jones said. “ We made too many errors and we didn’t perform at the plate. We made some really good plays and a couple of the errors didn’t hurt us but we have to get runners on and we have to do our job at the plate.

“Weatherford is a great softball team. I don’t want to take away from that. You just didn’t see Purcell on Saturday and the thing is, it’s ok,” she said. “Does this sting because it is the second year in a row? 100 percent.

“Before the game we were ready,” Jones said. “We were relaxed and confident.

“Then it started and I think the reality of “what ifs” started getting to us. What if we don’t win it again? What if I strike out? What if I make an error? What if people are disappointed, and ‘wait, this really is my last fast-pitch softball game in this jersey’.”

Jones said all those emotions started to take over. She told them in Supers that this game doesn’t define us, a strikeout or error doesn’t define us.

“I want to give a special thank you to all of our parents, fans, administration and donors throughout the season and postseason,” Jones said.

“Thanks to my assistants Mark Maral and Kailey Gamble for stepping in and hopefully we didn’t scare them off after their first year as softball coaches.

“It is always a great day to be a Dragon and we are beyond proud to wear that jersey. See you in 2025,” the coach concluded.