OXFORD – The Lady Blackhawks saw their five-run lead cut down to one by the end of the sixth. However, Oxford’s pitcher Allison Beckwith struck out two and came up with the play at home as the Unatego Spartans Hali Lucia tried to steal home, saving the 8-7 win for the Blackhawks Tuesday afternoon.
Unatego scored four runs in the fifth inning as Leah Hamm singled on the first pitch of the frame. Teammate Megan Short bunted to advance Hamm to second and was ruled safe at first, giving the Spartans two baserunners.
Jaci Zaveral also singled in the frame on a bunt, one that was placed in the right spot to score Hamm from third following her steal. Short and Zaveral both scored with steals at home, cutting the Oxford lead down to two runs.
Lucia doubled on a fly ball with one out for the Spartans, putting another runner on the base paths after being emptied once earlier in the inning. Lucia stole third base and scored with two outs on another steal at home for Unatego making the score 7-6 at the top of the fifth.
Oxford opened up their scoring in the first inning, when Logan O’Brien singled on a 0-2 count, scoring one run. The Lady Blackhawks tallied three in the inning after Beckwith’s two-run homer. Tacking on two in the third and fourth, Oxford jumped out to a 7-2 before the Spartans fourth inning rally.
In the bottom of the fifth, Oxford scored an additional run to give them a two run cushion.
Beckwith pitched Oxford to victory. She allowed ten hits and seven runs while striking out 12.
The Blackhawks bats went to work, recording 16 total hits in the game. Trinity Vargas went 4-for-4 at the plate while Jessie Howe was 3-for-4 and both O’Brien and Hannah Ryan were 2-for-3 in their plate appearances.
Zaveral went 3-for-4 and Hamm was 2-for-3 in the tough loss for Unatego.
Short took the loss for Unatego, giving up six hits and three runs over one inning of work.
Oxford travels to Walton Thursday afternoon. The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday but the weather pushed it back a day. Game will start at approximately 4:30 p.m.
Oxford 8, Unatego 7
Unatego 0 0 2 0 4 1 0 – 7 10 1
Oxford 3 0 2 2 1 0 x – 8 16 2
Megan Short (L), Paige McCoy (2) and . Allison Beckwith (W) and Jessie Howe.
Doubles: (U) Jaci Zaveral, Hali Lucia, Leah Hamm.
HR: (O) Allison Beckwith
Greene 5, Hancock 4
GREENE – In their second half of back-to-back games, the Lady Trojans scored four in the bottom of the seventh for a comeback win of MAC opponent Hancock Wildcats.
In walk-off fashion, Trojans’ Chrissy Boeltz had the final hit that scored Nicole Repp for the winning run.
Greene scored in the first inning, taking the early lead but Hancock answered with two runs in the third to take back the advantage.
In the fifth, the Wildcats added another run. They scored once more in the top of the seventh to lead 4-1.
In their final at-bats, Lady Trojan Ciara Gunderson ripped a RBI double, scoring the first run of four. Teammates Mckenna Sergi lined a triple that also scored a RBI in the comeback win.
Greene’s Alyssa Sands hit two extra-base hits in the game, both being doubles.
On Monday, Greene also scored one in the win column by taking down Walton 9-1.
Again on the their home field, the Lady Trojans attacked early with 3-0 lead. Tacking on another run in the second, Greene held a 4-0 lead.
In the third inning, the Lady Warriors were threatening the Trojan lead with the bases loaded. A line drive was hit at Greene’s third baseman Boeltz. Boeltz caught the ball then tagged the runner at third and threw to second for the triple play, getting out of the jam.
Walton scored their lone run of the game in the top of the fifth but the Trojans put together three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. The home team tallied another two in the bottom of the sixth to total nine.
Greene, now 5-1, faces another back-to-back schedule to end the week. They will first travel to Unatego, facing Spartans on Friday afternoon. The Trojans will host the second game against Whitney Point on Saturday morning. Friday’s game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. while Saturday’s contest will start at 11 a.m.
Greene 5, Hancock 4
Hancock 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 – 4 9 1
Greene 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 – 5 9 2
Mikayla Kravelsky (L) and Kaci Moreno. Olivia Kennedy (W) and Tiffany Johns.
