An overflow crowd at the Mustang varsity softball venue was treated to a classic pitcher’s duel on Friday, April 8, as the Oakdale Mustangs varsity softball team edged the visiting Central Catholic Raiders by the score of 1-0.
Junior Delainey Everett was powerful from the circle, striking out 15 Raiders in the seven-inning game. In all, Everett surrendered just one hit and walked six in the shutout performance. Matching Everett’s pitching prowess was Central Catholic’s Randi Roelling, who surrendered one run on two hits, striking out 13 and walking four.
The pitchers were clearly in control during the first two and a half innings; with Oakdale threatening in the bottom of the third, Central mounting a threat in the top of the fourth but neither one leading to a score.
The Mustang half of the fourth produced the only run of the afternoon. With one out, Danny Romo reached first on an error. Sophomore left fielder Presley Barnes then hit a screaming line drive into the right center field gap to score the swift freshman Madison Bohannon, who had been inserted by head coach Larry Loger to run for Romo. Barnes ended up at second with an RBI double.
Mustang fans had to collectively hold their breath in the top half of the fifth inning. After walking the leadoff Raider, Everett seemed to be sailing along in the 92-degree heat by striking out the next two batters. Then, the junior pitcher bent over and began rubbing her calf followed by her sitting down near the pitching rubber. She was suffering from a cramp in her left calf. Loger immediately called time out and got Everett some water. Fortunately, she was able to continue, but walked the next batter to put runners at first and second with the Raider leadoff hitter Adison Machado due up. Everett was able to strike out Machado, however, to end the Raider half of the fifth. Avery Brown singled to start the Mustang half of the fifth but ended up stranded at second following a fielder’s choice, a fly out in foul territory, and a strike out.
Everett retired the Raiders’ number 2, 3 and 4 hitters in order in the top of the sixth. She was aided by a brilliant, diving catch of a foul fly ball by right fielder Bailey Peterson. After the Mustangs went relatively quietly in the sixth (Barnes reached on an error, but was stranded), Everett began the final stanza by fanning the first two Raider hitters. She then appeared to lose concentration and walked the seventh batter. Everett then seemed to press too hard against the Raider eighth place hitter and walked her as well. Assistant coach Pete Cordova asked for time out and strode to the pitcher’s circle wearing a shocking pink cowboy hat with a fuzzy fringe.
“I just wanted to loosen Delainey up; get her laughing,” Cordova noted after the game. The ploy proved to be a brilliant psychological move as Everett responded by striking out the next batter to seal the 1-0 win for the Mustangs and give them the undisputed ranking of first place in the Valley Oak League.
One of the keys to the Mustang victory was outstanding fielding, playing an error-free game with some excellent plays executed by a variety of players. On the offensive side, Brown went 1-for-3, Romo reached twice on errors and her pinch runner, Bohannon, scored the lone run of the game. Valente drew two walks and Barnes reached all three times she came to the plate, drawing a walk, hitting a big RBI double and then reaching on an error.
On Monday, April 11, the Mustangs continued their winning ways by defeating the visiting Kimball Jaguars 6-4. Sophomore Raegen Everett pitched a complete game for the Mustangs, giving up four runs on nine hits while striking out 10 and walking none. Avery Brown collected two hits and scored two runs for the Mustangs complemented by Amanda Bricker’s two hits and one run. Bricker also reached first base on an error. Delainey Everett had a triple and a sacrifice fly, scoring a run and driving in three big runs. Danny Romo had an RBI sacrifice fly while Presley Barnes continued her hot streak with two singles and a run scored. Rounding out the hitting was an RBI single by Kylie Valente who also drew the only base on balls in the game. The play of the game came in the top half of the seventh inning. Mounting a comeback rally, the Jaguars had scored two runs on two hits and an error with catcher Olivia Rinker, who had reached base all three previous times she had batted (a double, a single and an error), at the plate. Rinker ripped a vicious line drive to the left side, which looked like it would be a run-producing hit until Bricker made a diving, back-handed circus catch to end the rally, the inning, and the game.
The JV Lady Mustangs came away with an 8-1 home win against Kimball on Monday, April 11 with two RBI from Grace Constant, two hits and two runs scored from Kylee Joseph. Emilee Anderson pitched five strong innings for the win in the circle.
BASEBALL
The Mustang varsity and JV baseball teams split their contests with Central Catholic in Valley Oak League action.
For the varsity boys, they took a 10-0 loss at Central on April 5, collecting just five hits on the day. Landon Nunes had a double and a single, with singles from Gannon Camp, Lukas Cox and Tate Cassaretto. Four Oakdale pitchers saw work on the mound but Central took control early with three runs in the first, three more in the second and four in the fourth to dispatch the Mustangs in the five-inning contest.
The Oakdale team got a win in a very different contest Thursday, April 7 as they held off the visiting Raiders, 2-1.
Central jumped out with one run in the first, Oakdale tied the game in the third and then pushed the go ahead run across the plate in the fifth.
Senior Johnny Wylie was 2-for-3 with two RBI and also was the winning pitcher, going all seven innings, allowing three hits while striking out nine.
Alex Jones was 2-for-2 with a run scored; Tate Cassaretto, Landon Nunes and Preston Vieira all had a hit.
The JV boys fell in an 11-4 final on the road at Central on April 5 and, like their varsity counterparts, got a one-run win at home. The April 7 contest saw the JV boys win 8-7 in extra innings.
Central scored four runs in the first, one in the third, two in the fifth. Oakdale countered with two runs in the first and second, and chipped away with single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh, tying the game in the seventh to send it into the extra frame. Oakdale scored the walk-off winning run in the bottom of the eighth for the 8-7 victory.
The freshmen reported a 10-9 home win on April 8, defeating Sierra.
