The wind was blowing in at H.E. Markham Park Friday afternoon.
Liberty-Eylau blanked Pittburg in its District 15-4A opener, 3-0.
"It's hard to get wins in this district and I'm excited we could get one in our first district game," Liberty-Eylau head coach Kendra Cullum. "It's good to get that first one and we're 1-0 now."
Both squads started the contest off sluggish offensively, but that's mostly attributed to strong pitching on both sides.
Leopard ace Isabella Gunderson received the win in the circle for the Lady Leopards. Gunderson struck out one batter, gave up two hits and no runs in four innings.
"Isabella was awesome tonight for us," Cullum said. "We've preached about walks and giving up free bases, and she didn't give up any for us tonight. She's a senior and rose to the challenge. That's what we wanted out of her.
"We had exceptional defensive play behind Isabella. I'm so proud of them for running down fly balls. They did exactly what we expected them to do."
Sophomore Alyssa Littles started and hurled three innings of 3-hit ball. She fanned a pair and walked one.
The Leopards broke the scoring drought at the bottom of the fourth inning when Kayla Norris drove in Keeley Norris on a Pittsburg error.
Kayla Norris went 1 for 3 for the Leopards with a single, RBI and three stolen bases, while teammate Keeley Norris finished 1 for 3 with two stolen bases and a RBI.
Liberty-Eylau scored their second run of the inning on Tamara Norris' sacrifice fly ball, driving in Kayla Norris.
Savannah Phelps led the Leopards at the plate going 2 for 3 with two stolen bases and teammate Tamara Norris added two singles, two stolen bases and a RBI.
"What more can I say about Tamara, Keeley and Kayla," Cullum said about the sisters, Kayla and Keeley twins. "They're really good athletes and we try to use their speed as much as possible. Even if they're off hitting, we're able to use their athleticism in so many different ways.
"They come in so clutch and they're such great teammates, they deserve all the success their getting right now and I can't wait to continue to see it the rest of the season."
Liberty-Eylau added to their lead on Keeley Norris' sacrifice fly to right field, driving in No. 10 in the bottom of the fifth.
The Leopards rolled a 6-4 double play, Kayla Norris snagging a line drive and doubling off a runner at second, to cancel the Lady Pirates, momentum at the top of the sixth inning.
"We have a sports psychologist that we use and he preaches a lot of the mental aspect of the game," Cullum said. "We continue to work with our girls on it and we tell them to play the game how it's supposed to be played. At the end of the day, it's still a game. Don't let it show that the game is playing you, you play the game.
"Even when times got a little scary out there, I was glad to see the poise in our girls and they continued to keep playing, fighting through it. That shows growth as a team."
The Leopards are back in action on Tuesday, traveling to North Lamar at 5 p.m.
Pittsburg=000=000=0=-=0=5=2
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Trinity Aycock and Natalie Styles. Alyssa Littles, Isabella Gunderson (4) and Tamara Norris. WP-Gunderson. LP-Aycock.