The Bradford Lady Owls’ (1-5) first victory of the season couldn’t have come in much more dramatic fashion.
After being down to their last three outs twice, the Lady Owls topped Oswayo Valley (2-3) 8-7 in nine innings when some great baserunning by Makenzee Maley resulted in a walk-off steal of home plate.
“It was a great game to watch and be a part of,” Bradford coach Misty Antonioli said.
The Lady Owls got a great outing from starter Kaylee Brown, who went all nine innings while striking out nine batters and walking only one.
OV starter Madi Nudd had a great game as well, working into extra innings and striking out 13 while walking five.
Bradford opened the game with a four-run first inning capped by a two-run single by Maley. But a pair of big innings by the Lady Green Wave had the Owls facing a 6-4 deficit heading into the seventh.
Once again, though, Bradford used some opportunistic baserunning to pull even, as Emily Warner and Makenzie Smith scored on a wild pitch and passed ball, respectively, to send the game to extra innings.
After Oswayo Valley scored a run in the top of the ninth, the Lady Owls had to crawl their way back one more time.
Bryn Manion and Maley were able to get on base with back-to-back singles. Nicole Sayers then tied the game up with an RBI single that brought Manion in. A groundout that advanced both Maley and Sayers left the Lady Owls down to their final out. From there, Maley took advantage of the opportunity in front of her to give her team the victory.
“The other coaches and I are really pleased with how the girls battled back and forth,” Antonioli said.
DUKE CENTER — Otto-Eldred’s Alyssa Shelander pitched a three-hitter and belted a walk-off two-run single that capped the Lady Terrors’ six-inning 11-0 victory over Sheffield in girls softball action on Tuesday.
Shelander handcuffed the Lady Wolverines following a shaky start that saw the visitors load the bases with no outs in the top of the first inning.
“We played strong defense and got out of the jam with a double play and ground out,” said Roger Veilleux, O-E coach. “Our defense even turned a rare triple play in the fourth inning.”
Backing Shelander at the plate were 11 additional hits including Harlee VanScoter’s 2-for-3 night with three RBIs, Emily Smith (3-for-4) with a triple, Kirsten Renninger (2-for-3) with an RBI single and Rachael Wolfe with an RBI triple.
“Our hitting started out a little slow, but we got it going at the end,” Veilleux pointed out.
Claire Pearson and Marissa Grubb shared pitching duties for Sheffield.
The Lady Wolverines were led offensively by Mya Grubb with a double.
Otto-Eldred (2-3) returns to action today hosting Galeton.
