October 15, 2022

Ryley Watkins wasn’t nervous at all.

Even though the bases were loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning, the senior from Edmond Memorial was actually excited as she stepped to the plate with the state championship on the line.

“This is going to be the last one so might as well make it count,” Watkins thought. “We still had an out to work with and I was confident that if I didn’t do it, somebody behind me would.”

Watkins didn’t need anybody else. She did what she had dreamed of doing since her freshman year of high school.

With the bases loaded, Watkins smashed an RBI single to left field bringing home Kensington Perrotti to lift Edmond Memorial past Broken Arrow 1-0 for the Class 6A title. Memorial topped Broken Arrow 1-0 to win its fourth fastpitch state championship and first since 2019.

The Bulldogs found the teary-eyed Watkins as she rounded second base and tackled her in celebration.

“She’s a senior, she’s not going on to play in college, she’s going to remember that for forever,” First-year Edmond Memorial coach Kayla Carlsward said of Watkins.

With the performance of Edmond Memorial freshman pitcher Keegan Baker and Broken Arrow’s Adison Norman, the two teams were locked in a pitcher’s duel for the first six innings of the game. Each time Broken Arrow looked like it was going to break through, Edmond Memorial would shut it down.

In the fifth inning, Broken Arrow’s Maysie Childers earned the Tigers first hit of the game and then two walks loaded the bases with one out. But when Broken Arrow hit a ground ball the runner at third didn’t run. Edmond Memorial third baseman Beth Damon tagged both runners out.