Dodge City softball team hit the road over the weekend and played in the Winter Blast Tournament in Denison, Texas playing some tough competition and battling through plenty of adversity on and off the field. 

The Conquistadors finished the trip unable to secure a win in the four games played falling to North Central Texas College 13-4, 6-3 versus Weatherford, 11-3 vs Northern Oklahoma-Enid, and 6-2 versus Weatherford moving to 2-4 on the season. 

The adversity started on the trip for the Conquistadors before the game even started as their hotel suffered a fire which displaced the team and kept them up late the night before the tournament but the ladies would fight throughout the tournament bringing strong competitiveness to the field. 

The Conqs are back in action on Tuesday, February 15th when they head to Texas again for a doubleheader with Howard and then play Western Texas on Wednesday, February 16th on the road also. 

Game 1 – Lost 13-4 vs North Central Texas College (5 innings) 

The Conqs opened the tournament in Texas drawing North Central Texas College and struggled to get going early after battling adversity before the tournament off the field. NCTC plated six runs in the bottom of the second and added another in the third and three more in the fourth to make it 9-0. Conqs did not however go away quietly scoring four runs in the fifth as they capitalized on five free passes and had a pair of singles. NCTC countered with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to finish the game 13-4 in five innings. 

Conqs were out hit 11-4 in the contest with Makayla Garcia going 1-3 with two RBI, while Melanie Castro was 1-2 with a run scored, double, and walk. Kalei Villegas also went 1-1 with a run scored. 

Game 2 – Lost 6-3 vs Weatherford 

Conqs battled in a tight contest in the second game of the tournament but once again fell behind early trailing 3-0 versus Weatherford after the second inning. Down 5-0 entering the bottom of the fourth the Conqs offense got going scoring a pair of runs highlighted by an RBI triple by AJ Poell and made it a 5-2 game. Both teams would score only one more run each in the contest both in the sixth and Weatherford took the 6-3 win. 

Garcia went 2-4 at the plate for the Conqs, while Poell was 2-3 with a triple, run scored, and RBI. Castro, Olivia Ortiz, Addison Spencer, and Hadlee Richardson each recorded a hit, also. Alicyn O'Neill in relief was solid in the circle tossing three innings giving up just one unearned run on two hits and a walk.

Game 3 – Lost 11-3 vs Northern Oklahoma-Enid (6 innings) 

The third game of the tournament saw the Conqs get the offense going early with back-to-back singles to lead off the game and one more single and three walks in the first inning helped the Conqs a 3-0 lead versus Enid. Enid countered with three runs in the bottom of the first and it remained tied until Enid found a way to swing the lead to their favor with five runs in the bottom of the fifth and would score another in the fifth and two more in the sixth to take the game 11-3 in six innings. 

In the loss, Stephanie Torres was 2-3 with a run scored and RBI, while Castro, Richardson, and Villegas each had a hit. Raemie Lopp, Destiny Saldivar, and K'Lee Flores all pitched in the game. 

Game 4 – Lost 6-2 vs Weatherford 

The Conqs were scheduled to wrap up the tournament against a Top five team in Grayson but they and a few other teams pulled out of the tournament on the second day, so the Conqs still get another game in played Weatherford again. Weatherford would strike first with a run in the bottom of the second and two more in the third, but the Conqs got on the board with two in the fourth as Riley Haney had a two-RBI single in the inning. After making it a one-run game the Conqs saw Weatherford score three more runs to take the contest 6-2. 

Garcia, Poell, and Riley Haney each had a hit for the Conqs in the game. Haney went 1-3 with two RBIs and Poell recorded a double with a run scored. Danika Utajara tossed three innings giving up three runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk, and struck out one, while Alexis Holman and O'Neill each saw action in the circle.