Oak Harbor’s 6-5, nine-inning, upset fastpitch win over visiting Meadowdale Thursday, May 5, was improbable in so many ways.
The unlikely win came on the heels of a near upset of Mountlake Terrace. The Wildcats fell 4-2 to the host Hawks Wednesday, May 4.
Meadowdale entered the game with 13 wins and in second place in the Wesco standings at 9-3. One-win Oak Harbor sat at the bottom of the Wesco pile.
Oak Harbor had to score two runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings. Then the Wildcats had to score four runs in the ninth to win (three coming with two outs). This all came from an offense that saw its first 10 batters of the game strike out. Oak Harbor finished with 16 strikeout, Meadowdale zero.
Also, Oak Harbor overcame two huge base-running mistakes. And errors, something that stung the ‘Cats all year, hurt the Mavericks more than Oak Harbor this time around.
Meadowdale got single runs off Oak Harbor starter Emily Saar in the first and third innings. Amanda Pavey took over in the fourth and blanked the Mavs until the ninth.
Down 2-0 heading into the seventh, Oak Harbor loaded the bases with no outs when Saar walked, Bailey Martinez singled and Emily Hunt walked.
The promising start took a turn south when Samm Zimmerman hit a pop up and the umpires called the infield fly rule. The Mavs muffed the fly and an Oak Harbor runner mistakenly took off, which resulted in a double play. Now Oak Harbor had runners on second and third with two outs.
Abby Rankin, one of the team’s 12th-graders honored before the game on “Senior Day,” kept the game alive with a two-run double to the left-field corner.
A strikeout ended the inning and sent the game to extra innings.
Meadowdale finally got to Pavey in the ninth. A double, walk, single, error and sacrifice fly plated three runs.
In the bottom of the seventh, Martinez hit a one-out double. Hunt walked, then Zimmerman boarded on an error that resulted in one run. After the second out, McKenzie DeMarsh singled in another run. An error off the bat of Morgan Young tied it up, then Pavey singled through the hole with the game winner.
Mountlake Terrace (11-5, 9-3) moved into second place with Oak Harbor’s win over Meadowdale, but the Hawks were almost an upset victim at the hands of Oak Harbor as well.
The Wildcats scored in the first and third with RBI doubles from Saar and Martinez. Mountlake Terrace knotted the game with two in the third, then posted single runs in the fifth and sixth.
Oak Harbor pounded 11 hits and had no strikeouts, but left eight runners on base and made numerous base-running blunders, according to coach Jess Weikle.
Young, Pavey, Shawna Steele, Saar and Martinez each had two hits for the Wildcats.
Oak Harbor (2-15, 2-10) finishes up its home season Monday, May 9, at 4 p.m. with Shorewood (5-11, 4-6).
