After getting the season rolling with two home victories last week, the Warren County High School softball team was looking forward to giving the Oakland Lady Patriots a rude welcome to McMinnville Monday night.
The Lady Pioneers hardly resembled the team that won six games last week against the Lady Patriots though. For the second time this season, Oakland beat Warren County, this time winning 12-3.
Warren County (8-8) entered Monday’s contest on a hot streak. After beginning the season 1-5, the Lady Pioneers went 6-2 last week to improve their record to over .500.
The great play of late didn’t carry over when Oakland stepped onto the field against the Lady Pioneers.
Oakland scored the first nine runs and held Warren County scoreless until the sixth to pick up a big road victory over the Lady Pioneers.
The Lady Patriots jumped out to a big lead in the third inning. After a lead-off single, senior Gabi Keith walked the next three batters to give Oakland its first run. Three hits followed as the Lady Patriots plated four runs in the third.
Back-to-back errors by Lauren Wilkinson and Monica Lane helped Oakland add its fifth run in the fifth inning, then the Lady Patriots strung together five straight hits at one point in the sixth to score four more runs.
Warren County finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Trailing 9-0, the Lady Pioneers rallied with two outs.
With Taylor Grissom already aboard, Morgan Frye and Sarah Jacobs each singled to load the bases.
Freshman Liza Harvey came through with a flair into right field to plate the first run, then Peytan Hall drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in another run.
Mahaley Keele barely missed continuing the rally when her hard shot to third base was snagged, ending the inning.
Oakland responded with three more runs in the seventh on three Lady Pioneer errors, effectively ending any chance of a comeback.
The lone highlight at the end of the game came when Samantha Weeter, who entered in place of Wilkinson following a shoulder injury, led off the seventh with a double into the left-field gap.
Weeter would come in to score later on groundout by Lane.
Jacobs and Harvey led the Lady Pioneers with two hits each, while Weeter, Wilkinson and Frye had one hit apiece.
Keith took the loss, pitching all seven innings and giving up 12 runs on 11 hits and walking five. Keith finished with four strikeouts as she fell to 6-6 this season.
Warren County hopes to bounce back quickly as the Lady Pioneers prepare for back-to-back District 6-AAA games.
The Lady Pioneers enter tonight’s game against Cookeville with a 2-1 record in district. Tonight’s game, which is a make-up game from a previous rain-out, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Warren County will travel to White County tomorrow for another district game that will also start at 7 p.m.