The 2021 softball season has come to an end. The team returned to the field earlier this spring following a yearlong absence due to the pandemic. The girls took to the field for the final time this year on Wednesday, May 12 when they hosted Escalon. This was the second time these two teams faced off this year, and just like the first meeting back on April 19, Escalon came out on top. It took 10 innings but when it was all said and done, the Cougars clawed their way to a 4-3 road win.
In the bottom of the sixth inning Avery Brown gave Oakdale a 1-0 lead with an RBI double to score Rachel Haakma from first base. However, in the seventh inning Escalon countered with a two-out run to tie the game, ultimately leading to extra innings.
In the top of the 10th Escalon scored three runs to go up 4-1. The Lady Mustangs made it interesting by getting two of those runs back in their final at-bat, but left two runners stranded and fell just short against the visiting Lady Cougars.
Delainey Everett pitched a complete game for Oakdale giving up seven hits, one earned run and struck out a dozen. On the year the sophomore finished with an ERA of 0.43, won nine games, pitched 82.1 innings and struck out 131 batters.
Oakdale had four seniors on the roster this year: Dylan Gonzalez, Alexa Aguilar, Rachel Haakma and Cassie Haakma. The future of the team appears to be bright as they have a youthful roster and the junior varsity team showed growth throughout the season. Oakdale’s junior varsity won their final game of the year as they shut out Escalon 22-0 in five innings.
SOFTBALL AWARDS
On Thursday, May 13 the softball program along with their friends and family attended the annual awards ceremony. Normally held indoors, the event was held outside on the grounds of Bloomingcamp Ranch. For varsity, Amanda Bricker took home the Best Offensive Player Award, Delainey Everett was named Best Defensive Player. Danny Romo won Most Improved Player, Alexa Aguilar was named Coaches Award winner. For the junior varsity Kylee Joseph won Best Offensive Player, Morgan Wright was named Best Defensive Player, Haidyn Krum took home Most Improved Player Award and Katy Thomasson earned the Coaches Award.
