OKEECHOBEE — The Moore Haven Middle School Lady Terriers softball team made the trip up to Okeechobee to face the Yearling Middle School Lady Bulls on April 17.

The home crowd at the Okeechobee High School softball field were still finding their seats when the Lady Bulls jumped out to an early lead.

Lake Okeechobee News/Richard Marion
Lady Bull Mamie McCoy takes a swing during Yearling’s game against Moore Haven on April 17.

Yearling already had two runs on the board by the time Lady Bull Mallory Collier stepped up to the plate with a runner on first. Collier increased that lead by hitting a inside the park home run to go up 4-0 in the first inning.

But Moore Haven was able to show some resilience after going down early.

Despite being an away game a big crowd from Moore Haven was in the stands in Okeechobee to support their Lady Terriers. Moore Haven was able to cut the lead in half 4-2 during the second inning, but looked to be on the verge of taking the lead before a pop fly retired the side with the bases loaded.

Lake Okeechobee News/Richard Marion
The Moore Haven Lady Terriers didn’t have trouble putting runners on base during their game against Yearling Middle School. But the Lady Bull defense was always able to leave them stranded.

In the bottom of the second inning, however, Yearling’s offense started to run away with the game. A flurry of hits by Yearling and untimely errors by Moore Haven gave the Lady Bulls plenty of breathing room.

By the bottom of the third Yearling had tacked on eight more runs to go up 12-4.

Collier kept up her hot streak for Yearling, sending a long fly ball that fell just short of the center field fence to bring in another run.

This kind of big offensive showing is something the Lady Bulls have been building to all season. Yearling coach Kelci Breaux says the team was focused on defense during the first few practices.

Lake Okeechobee News/Richard Marion

Lady Bull Arianna Grancedos takes a big lead at second base in Yearling’s game against Moore Haven on April 17.

“We haven’t really had much time to work on hitting,” said Breaux. “I solely wanted to focus on defense to start out with because even though offense is important because that’s how you win games, defense is important for controlling those games. So we’re just now getting to the point where we’re working with batters on offense.”

Moore Haven was able to bring in one more run, but Yearling’s offense proved to be too much to overcome and the Lady Bulls went on to win 18-3.

Now the Lady Bulls are preparing to take the field again on April 24 against Pemayetv Emahakv Charter School (PECS).

PECS will be taking on both Okeechobee middle schools, Yearling and Osceola Middle School, in a doubleheader. The first game starts at 4:30 p.m. on the softball field at Okeechobee High School.