OKLAHOMA CITY — The Sequoyah Lady Indians' quest for a first-ever state championship in fast-pitch softball came to an end in the semifinals of the state tournament Friday at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The Lady Indians fell to the Lady Warriors of Adair, 3-0.

A combination of Adair defense, untimely errors by Sequoyah and a lack of hitting doomed the Lady Indians, who were playing in their first state championship tournament in school history.

Adair scored its first run in the top of the first inning. Center fielder Ashley Reed led off the game with a walk, followed by shortstop Chelsea Stricklen's single. A sacrifice bunt by Shelby Ross moved the runners to second and third, and left fielder Cari Peters' single put Adair up 1-0. Stricklen was thrown out at home by Sequoyah first baseman Binx Hammer on the same play.

Sequoyah had a chance to tie the score in the bottom of the same inning when center fielder Nikki Lewis led off the game with a walk and then stole second. After Saharra Henson struck out, pitcher Cortney Glass walked and Sequoyah had runners on first and second with one out. Unfortunately, Hammer then flied out to center and second baseman Megan Tehee grounded out to shortstop to end the threat.

Sequoyah had its next scoring opportunity in the third inning. Lewis again hit a single, this time with one out, and Henson reached on a throwing error by Stricklen. Glass then doubled to centerfield. However, Lewis was thrown out at home on a terrific throw by Reed to keep Sequoyah scoreless.

"That play could've changed the game for us," Sequoyah head coach Jeff Turtle said. "It was a close play and it could've gone either way."

Following Glass, Hammer flied out to center to end the inning.

Things got worse for the Lady Indians in the top of the fourth, when two errors led to two more Adair runs. The first came with one out when Ross' groundball was misplayed by Tehee. After a sacrifice bunt moved Ross to second, a throwing error by Henson led to Adair's second run. Adair first baseman Regan Littlefield followed with a single to make the score 3-0.

Sequoyah's attempted to answer in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, third baseman Caitlin Dry hit a single. Catcher Haylee Beck followed with another single, putting runners on first and second. The next batter, Keisha Jones, hit another single to left field. However, the ball stayed in the air just long enough to keep Dry close to second base.

Adair left fielder Cari Peters then scooped up the ball and threw to third, narrowly forcing Dry out. The next batter, Taylor Johnson, flied out to left to end the inning.

That was the last hit Sequoyah had, and the game finished 3-0.

"I don't think we've been shut out all year," Turtle said. "They [Adair] played pretty well, especially on defense. Their pitcher threw a good game. We didn't stay back on the ball, especially when we got behind and started to press. That caused us to hit a lot of fly balls."

In spite of the disappointing finish, Turtle is proud of his players and what they have accomplished this season.

"To get down to the last four teams [in the state] is a big accomplishment. It's our first time here in school history, so that's something to be proud of. We're hurting right now, but there's a lot of teams sitting at home right now who didn't make it this far."

With no seniors on this year's team, Turtle is looking forward to next season.