ORANGEFIELD – Two teams that should both be in the hunt for the District 22-3A softball title battled Tuesday night as the Orangefield Lady Bobcats hosted the Buna Lady Cougars in the district opener for both teams.

It was Buna, who advanced all the way to the Class 3A Region III Finals last season, that took Round One as the Lady Cougars toppled the Lady Bobcats 9-4.

The Lady Cougars (1-0 in district) utilized the long ball to turn back the Lady Bobcats (10-6, 1-0) as they hit four home runs.

Lady Cougar Haley Ladner had two home run blasts in going 3-for-4 with four runs batted in. Zoey Smith and Kennedy Goldman also homered for the Lady Bobcats while Olivia Grant had a solo homer for Orangefield.

The Lady Cougars erased a 4-3 deficit after three innings by scoring six unanswered runs.

Codie Sorge went all seven innings on the mound for Orangefield as she allowed 13 hits while striking out seven and walking two.

Presley Glende nabbed the win on the Buna hill, tossing four innings of no-hit relief work as she finished with five strikeouts. Marcie Moss tossed the first three frames for Buna, scattering five hits while fanning three and walking two.

Buna grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, getting RBI singles from Ladner and Sunny Wray.

Grant trimmed it to 2-1 in the bottom of the first with a towering solo dinger over the rightfield fence.

Buna upped it to 3-1 in the top of the second off a Moss RBI double.

The Lady Bobcats evened things up in the bottom half of the second.

Tiffany Ciancaglione got it going with a one-out double to right and scored off a Heather Mineer double to right. Ryden Stanfield tied it up with a RBI single to centerfield.

Orangefield snagged a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third.

Emma Humplik walked and swiped second and Alyssa Dodd drew a walk. Humplik was able to hustle in and score off a Ciancaglione hard RBI single past second base.

Buna tied it in the top of the fourth with Zoey Smith hit a solo home run over the centerfield wall.

The Lady Cougars snared a 5-4 leading the top of the fifth when Ladner stroked a home run on a line shot over the centerfield fence.

Buna scored four runs in the sixth off four hits.

Morgan Broadhead had a sacrifice RBI to make it 6-4 and Ladner slapped a two-run homer over the rightfield fence. Goldman followed with a home run over the leftfield fence.

The Lady Bobcats will look to bounce back Friday when they play host to Anahuac.