A pair of wins for the Oakdale High School Lady Mustangs varsity softball team has them sitting in first place. In a competitive Valley Oak League the Lady Mustangs cushioned their lead in the standings with wins over East Union and Kimball this past week.
On Wednesday afternoon, Oakdale (13-0, 6-0) hosted East Union (12-4, 5-2) in their first meeting of the season. Facing the Lady Lancers ace Shelby Cefalu, Oakdale’s heavy bats swung with power early, and often. The Lady Mustangs scored three runs in the first inning and shortstop Brittany Bye connected on a two-run double to give Oakdale a 2-0 advantage. Left fielder Chloe Vierra connected on an RBI single with two outs to score Bye from second.
In the second inning Grace Green smashed a two-run home run that scored Adrianna Aguilar to give Oakdale a 5-0 advantage. In the third inning, East Union scored two runs to trim the Lady Mustangs lead down to 5-2. Innings four and five were scoreless but did not come without excitement. In the fourth inning East Union looked to trim the deficit down, but the would-be rally was halted by a questionable call as Vierra dove for a ball in shallow left field and with her best efforts came up with the ball and the umpire ruled it a basket catch, much to surprise of East Union, whose coach contended she corralled the ball on a bounce.
Oakdale scored the final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when Marissa Moffat pinch hit for Emily Smith and scored on an error.
“East Union is a good team,” said head coach Larry Loger. “Grace Green’s home run and Brittany Bye’s two run double helped power us offensively, along with Adrianna Aguilar’s three singles.”
In the circle and earning her 11th win of the season was Lexi Webb. She pitched a complete game and struck out 10 East Union batters.
“Lexi did a great job of getting out of trouble against a very good East Union lineup,” Loger praised.
On Friday, Oakdale shut out visiting Kimball (7-8-1, 4-5) 5-0 behind a four-run second inning. In that frame, Webb crushed a two-run homer. Leading the charge for Oakdale was Aguilar, who went 3-for-3 with an RBI.
“Adrianna Aguilar set the table with three hits, a total of six on the week,” Loger said of his first baseman.
Webb was once again in the circle for Oakdale and pitched a complete game shutout.
On Tuesday, April 17 the team was scheduled to host Weston Ranch (1-8, 0-7) in a double header, to make up their March 21 game that was postponed due to rain. Game one is scheduled for 3 p.m. and game two is scheduled for 5 p.m.
JUNIOR VARSITY
Two more wins for the junior varsity girls as they defeated East Union 16-1 and Kimball 11-3. Tuesday, April 17 the team will host Weston Ranch in a double header with game one at 3 p.m. and game two at 5 p.m.
