Douglas softball stays alive

The Douglas HIgh softball team stayed alive in the Northern 4A playoffs with a 5-4 win over Elko on Thursday at Carson High.

Douglas opened with a 13-3 loss to Reed. The Tigers will play in an elimination game at 2 p.m. today against the loser between Carson and Spanish Springs.

Stephanie Harper went the distance and struck out six to pick up the win against Elko. Douglas scored four runs in the second inning to take a 5-1 lead and was able to hold on

Lauren Hoppe was 2-for-3 with a double, Katrina Morgan doubled, Emily Weaver went 1-for-3 with an RBI, Marina Diaz was 2-for-3 and Angella Stephenson and Harper all added a hit for Douglas (23-16).

The Tigers had No. 2-seeded Reed down 2-1 through the bottom of the fourth, but the Raiders broke out with six runs.

The Tigers bounced back in the top of the fifth when Hoppe led off with a single and Harper later singled her home to cut the lead to 7-3.

That's as close as Douglas would get, however, as Reed ended the game in the bottom of the sixth, getting seven runs including a game-ending grand slam.