On Thursday, May 19, the Oakdale Mustang varsity softball team took a decisive victory in their Sac-Joaquin Section Division III quarterfinal game, as they overwhelmed the visiting Manteca Buffaloes by the score of 13-0. Just before the game, the All-Valley Oak League team had been announced and included eight Lady Mustangs. All eight of those players contributed to the lopsided victory.
Oakdale, the No. 3 seed in DIII, had shut out No. 14 Beyer 10-0 in the opening round on May 17 and didn’t miss a beat in taking down the No. 6 Lady Buffaloes, a Valley Oak League foe.
Junior pitcher Delainey Everett, the VOL Pitcher of the Year, tossed a one-hit shutout over four innings, striking out six and walking two. Her younger sister, Raegen, an All-VOL First Team selection, pitched a flawless fifth inning, striking out two and catching a weak pop up before the umpiring crew invoked the 10-run mercy rule.
The softball Mustangs also put on an offensive clinic during the game. Leading the way was All-VOL Defensive Team players, centerfielder Avery Brown and second baseman Kylie Valente. Brown reached on an error and scored a run in the first and then singled three times, scoring another run and recording an RBI. Valente scorched a triple and a single and reached on a fielder’s choice, garnering five RBI on the day while scoring three runs. Not to be outdone, All-VOL first team shortstop, senior Amanda Bricker knocked in four runs on a sacrifice fly and two singles. All-VOL second team honoree Presley Barnes, playing as designated hitter for the game, scored three times in the game reaching on an error and drawing two walks. Also recording an RBI base hit and a sacrifice in three trips to the plate was the VOL’s Defensive Player of the Year Danny Romo while All-VOL first team selectee, senior third baseman Sophia Ortiz garnered an RBI on a towering sacrifice fly in the third before being pulled by head coach Larry Loger for a pinch hitter. Senior Kendall Oliver also recorded a base hit in the game.
While the Everett sisters were nearly perfect in the circle, the same could not be said for three Manteca pitchers who faced the Oakdale hitters during the shortened game. The Lady Mustangs played classic small ball scratching out a run on a two-base error, a sacrifice and a sacrifice fly in the first. The Mustangs then recorded three runs on three hits, including Valente’s triple, plus a walk in the second. The run production could have been more prolific in the inning if Buffalo center fielder Ariana Lowery had not made an outstanding diving catch of a blooper by Romo with one out and one on. The Mustang bats exploded in the third as 11 Mustangs came to the plate recording a double by Delainey Everett, singles by Brown, Romo, Bricker, and Valente, plus four walks to send six base runners across the plate for a 10-0 lead when the Buffaloes finally got out of the inning. In the fourth, the Mustangs scored three more runs on hits by Brown, Bricker and Kendall Oliver and two Buffalo errors to extend the Mustang lead to the final score of 13-0.
The win set up a semifinal battle between the No. 3 ranked Mustangs and the No. 2 Central Catholic Raiders on Tuesday, May 24 in Modesto. That game went to Central by a 3-1 final, ending Oakdale’s season.
Central will move on to face off with Vista del Lago in the D3 Section title game, as the No. 4 Vista squad defeated Vanden, the top ranked team, 3-1, on May 24.
The championship game is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 28 at Delta College.
All-VOL
Lady Mustangs making the All-VOL Team for this season include:
All-defensive team: seniors Kylie Valente and Avery Brown;
Second team All-League: sophomore Presley Barnes;
First team All-League: sophomore Raegen Everett, and seniors Amanda Bricker and Sophia Ortiz;
The Valley Oak League Defensive Player of the Year was senior Danny Romo;
The Valley Oak League Pitcher of the Year was junior Delainey Everett.
