After a dozen games in the 2019 season, Oakdale finished the year with a 10-3 road win over East Union to win the Valley Oak League championship. With a perfect 12-0 league record, Oakdale earned the championship title outright on Thursday, May 2.
On Tuesday, April 30 Oakdale (23-0-1) traveled to Rainbow Fields to take on Central Catholic (1-15, 1-9) where Oakdale blanked the Raiders 14-0. In the win Cortney Koelmans pitched a complete game shutout working five innings, striking out six and surrendering just one hit. At the plate Koelmans went 1-for-2 with two walks and three RBI. Alexa Aguilar went 2-for-2 with three RBI to help lead the team to victory as well. Jazz Velasquez, Dylan Gonzalez, Amber Robinson, Lexi Webb and Rilyn Cassaretto all added one RBI each. As a team Oakdale collected 13 hits.
Two days later Oakdale went on a mission to claim the league title, a season sweep of the Lancers. Oakdale accomplished that mission as Lexi Webb hit a leadoff home run to stun the home crowd. Webb sent the shot to center field for her eighth home run of the season. She delivered two hits in the game and drove in two runs.
The Lady Mustangs trailed 2-1 heading into the sixth inning, but a three-run inning was sparked by Dylan Gonzalez’s single with two outs. The two-out rally also included Mariyn Waterman driving in Gonzalez on an RBI single to tie the game. Aguilar then hit a two-RBI double to give Oakdale a 4-2 advantage.
In the seventh inning Oakdale broke the game open as they hung six runs on the board in the final frame. The big inning was led by Emily Smith reaching first to score Brittany Bye from second base. Rylie Goodridge hit an RBI single that scored Koelmans from second base with no outs. Velasquez added two more runs on a double that scored Smith and Goodridge. Still with no outs, Aguilar hit an RBI single, then with one out Webb capped off the big inning with an RBI double.
“I just wanted to help the team and I knew this was a big game,” said Velasquez.
She went 2-for-4 with two RBI in the win.
Defensively, Bye had two big plays in the sixth and added another in the seventh. “As a senior it is hard to believe that this was our final regular season game. I love this team and I had a great time, but our season is not over yet,” said shortstop Bye.
During the regular season Oakdale outscored their league opponents 129-8. Oakdale issued eight shutout wins in league play. The brackets for the postseason are scheduled to be released on Friday, May 10.
JUNIOR VARSITY
Oakdale avenged their lone loss in league with a 10-0 road win over East Union. After losing to the Lancers earlier in the season, Oakdale and East Union are the 2019 VOL co-champions. In the win, Amanda Bricker pitched a one hitter with nine strikeouts. Kiki Costa went 3-for-4 with a home run and a double with two RBI. The long ball continued for Oakdale as Abby Cogburn and Sophia Ortiz each hit a home run. As a team this season the girls batted .471, only committed one error and had a combined 0.35 ERA. They outscored their opponents 237-10.
“These girls are extremely talented and the numbers don’t lie,” said coach Jaime Smith. “They played exceptional all season long, I am very proud of them.”
