A trip to Valley Oak League rival Central Catholic’s home field proved to be the final game of the softball season for Oakdale’s varsity Lady Mustangs.
They fell to the host Lady Raiders in the semifinals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 playoffs by a 16-9 final on Tuesday, May 19.
That, despite Oakdale having an early 9-3 lead, and looking to make it to the Section title game.
However, Central Catholic would not go away quietly and they kept the pressure on, ultimately getting the lead and then roaring past the visiting Mustangs.
Going in, Oakdale thought perhaps the third time would be the charm. It was not. Oakdale took on Central Catholic for the third time this season and after two losses to the Lady Raiders during the regular season, the streak continued in the postseason.
Oakdale’s quest to reach the D4 title game started off strong as they racked up four runs in the second inning to jump out to a 4-0 lead. Central Catholic earned back one run in the bottom of third inning to make it a 4-1 ball game. The two teams exchanged runs in the fourth inning as each team posted two runs to make it a 6-3 game. In the top half of the fifth inning Oakdale surged ahead with three more runs to give them a commanding 9-3 lead. This lead was short-lived, though, as the Central girls countered with five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it a 9-8 game. Oakdale’s bats went silent after this and the rally for the Valley Oak League champion Lady Raiders began. They exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take the 16-9 lead.
Oakdale did not score in the seventh, taking the loss that ended their season.
The Central Catholic squad rapped out 19 hits and had two errors in the game; Oakdale had 10 hits on the afternoon and committed four errors.
Big hitters for Oakdale in the contest were Katee Conde with a three-run home run; Reese Donaldson drove in three runs; while Briley Everett, Saige Everett and Sasha Martinez each drove in one run, Martinez also had a double.
Taking the loss for Oakdale in the circle was Emily Thomasson. She pitched five-and-a-third innings, giving up 13 hits, 12 runs (seven earned) and walked four. She also struck out five batters. Saige Everett came on in relief to pitch the final two-thirds of an inning.
In the postseason, Oakdale was the number three seed in Division 4 and they took care of number 14 Placer in the first round on May 13, winning 11-1. In the quarterfinals, the Lady Mustangs defeated number six Del Campo on May 15, 6-2.
That put them into the semifinal round but there, they were stopped by the number two seed Central Catholic squad. The Lady Raiders defeated number 15 Lathrop in the first round, 13-3, then put away number seven seed Roseville, 10-3, in the quarterfinals.
In the Section championship game on Saturday, May 23, Central took home the D4 blue banner with an 8-3 win over number five seed Wood.
For the Lady Mustangs, they finished second in the Valley Oak League – to Central Catholic – with a 9-3 record. The girls went 15-10 overall under head coach Larry Loger this season.
Reporter Dennis D. Cruz and Editor Marg Jackson contributed to this story.
