By Ben Stroup
The Big Walnut softball team picked up a solid OCC-Capital Division win Wednesday, slipping past visiting and second place Mount Vernon 3-2 in Sunbury.
Kate Petty led the Golden Eagles (10-11) from the plate and the circle. She pitched a complete-game six-hitter with four strikeouts while finishing 2-for-3 with the game-winning RBI.
Meredith Thomas was also solid in the win, finishing 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI, while Katie Neff anchored the defense with five putouts in right field.
The Yellow Jackets (12-2) opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first. Big Walnut tied it up with a run in the third and, after Mount Vernon regained the lead in the fifth, plated two runs in the bottom half to take control.
Hayes 12, Orange 4
Chloe Barton and Madi Huck homered as the Pacers improved to 18-0 with a convincing win over the host Pioneers Wednesday in Lewis Center.
Hayes opened the scoring summary with a three spot in the first. It added another run in the second, three in the third, four in the fifth and one more in the sixth to seal the deal.
Orange used a pair of two-run frames to account for its scoring.
Huck finished 3-for-4 with five RBI and a run scored. Amaia Daniel, Lexi Mattix and Kaily Schuette also had three hits apiece, while Mackenzie Stonebraker finished 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Huck was also solid in the circle, striking out four and walking one in the complete-game win.
Marlo Robinson, Raelynn Bishop, Cami Clarkson and Alex Nagy had hits for the Pioneers.
River Valley 6, Buckeye Valley 2
The Barons broke the scoring seal with a run in the top of the first, then tied things up with another run in the third, but the host Vikings plated three in the sixth to break things open on the way to an MOAC win Wednesday afternoon.
Kasey Morris and Logan Hatcher combined for four of BV’s nine hits. Morris finished 2-for-3 with a double while Hatcher had a single, triple and RBI in the setback. Olivia Schick also had two hits for the Barons.
Morris took the loss in the circle.
Liberty 14, Westland 1, 5 inn.
The Patriots cruised past the host Cougars Wednesday evening, using a pair of six-run innings to end things early.
Up 2-1 heading into the third, Liberty scored six times to break it open. Another six spot in the fourth all but ended things.
Katelyn Wilhelm picked up the win in the circle, allowing just the one run on three hits.
Also: New Albany 7, Olentangy 0
BASEBALL
Mitchell Okuley and Connor Stewart had two-run singles as part of a seven run eighth inning to lift Liberty to a key 8-1 OCC-Central Division win over Coffman Wednesday in Dublin.
The game ended a little one-sided, but was anything but through seven competitive innings. The teams traded zeros until the fifth, when the Patriots plated the game’s first run.
The Shamrocks answered with a run of their own in the bottom half before another pair of scoreless innings sent the game into extras.
Stewart led Liberty at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBI. Jordan Seich and Corbin Rapier collected a pair of hits apiece while Okuley chipped in his big two-run hit.
Mason Groves pitched as well as he has all season to pick up the complete-game win. He allowed just a run on four hits while striking out seven and walking one in eight innings of action.
Olentangy 10, Mount Vernon 0, 5 inn.
The Braves wrapped up at least a share of their second straight OCC-Capital Division championship Wednesday, blanking visiting Mount Vernon 10-0 in five innings.
Olentangy, which improved to 11-0 in the league, dominated from start to finish.
Collin Hoffmann tossed a complete-game one-hitter on the mound, striking out six along the way.
He helped himself from the plate, too, scoring a game-best three runs while driving in another two. Collin Mathews also had a nice game, driving in three with a pair of doubles, while Christian McFarland also had a pair of hits in the win.
Also: River Valley 2, Buckeye Valley 1.
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Follow Ben Stroup on Twitter @delgazette_ben.
