The Oak Harbor fastpitch team has suffered some rough losses this spring, but the losses suffered by the Wildcats Friday and Saturday have to rank among the toughest.
Friday, April 22, Oak Harbor pitchers Emily Saar and Emily
Hunt gave up only five hits and no earned runs, but the Wildcats lost 14-0 to
visiting Snohomish in five innings because of a whopping 10 errors.
One day after the ugly loss, the Wildcats took a 2-1 lead
into the seventh inning only to lose 3-2 to Mount Vernon at Anacortes in
another nonleague game.
The Snohomish game was scoreless for two innings, then the
wheels fell off for Oak Harbor as it gave up four, three and seven runs – all
unearned – over the next three innings.
The Wildcat offense, like the defense, struggled and
collected only two hits, a single by Bailey Martinez and a double by Hunt.
Against Mount Vernon, the Wildcats took a one-run lead into
the bottom of the seventh, thanks in large part to pitcher Saar who had tossed
a one-hitter to that point.
The Bulldogs, however, finally got to Saar. A single,
double, bunt and single produced the two seventh-inning runs and the win.
The Wildcats scored first when Saar singled in the second
inning, stole second and scored on Hunt’s double.
They went up 2-0 in the top of the fourth when Martinez
doubled and eventually scored on an error off the bat of Abby Rankin.
The Bulldogs made it 2-1 with a run in the bottom half of
the inning.
Saar finished with nine strikeouts, and Hunt led the offense
with three hits.
Oak Harbor’s defense recovered from Friday’s mess to have one
its best defensive days of the season, committing only one error that did not
figure in the scoring.
The nonleague losses dropped Oak Harbor to 1-12 for the
year, 1-7 in Wesco 3A. Snohomish is 8-5 and Mount Vernon is 8-2.
The Wildcats have another nonleague game Monday, April 25,
at Stanwood (1-10) at 4 p.m., and then they return to Wesco play Tuesday, April
26, at home with Glacier Peak (5-8, 3-5) at 4 p.m.
