Golden Bears adjust, pull away from the Blue Dons
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NEW MANCHESTER -- Sometimes it just takes a little bit of time to adjust to different pitching.
For Oak Glen on Thursday, it took about an inning and half to adjust to Madonna's Kendal Ryan, but once they did, the Golden Bears' bats came alive.
After a scoreless first inning, Sherrie Garner's club scored four each in the second and third, then ended the game with an eight-run outburst in the fourth to take a 16-1 mercy rule win over the visiting Blue Dons.
"These girls see a lot of pitches year-round, when you have to go from one style to another there are some adjustments," Garner said. "The whole lineup was able to get it going and we started getting runners on and keeping it moving. I'm happy with the girls."
The victory was the fourth for Oak Glen in 11 outings, and one Garner hopes boosts the confidence for a strong push.
"Everybody needs a win," Garner said. "I think certainly this can help our confidence going forward. It's one game at a time trying to get back to .500 and keep it going."
Madonna (5-5) head coach Jason Backel knew the matchup was going to be a challenge for his young club.
"We start five underclassmen … but we're not going to duck anybody," Backel said. "Oak Glen may be 4-7, but I would say they're one of the best 4-7 teams in the state and in the valley. They lost to a really good University team and a heck-of-a Weir High team, we know how good they are.
"Lessons learned, we will be OK. We made too many mistakes (Madonna had four errors), we have to make the routine plays. A good team like them will take advantage when you give them free bags. They also hit a lot of balls where we weren't."
The Bears' big hit in the second came from Maddie Murray's bat, a two-run single to open the scoring.
Four different Oak Glen batters had an RBI in the third, then six more had RBI's in the fourth. All told, seven different Golden Bears drove in a run and eight different players recorded a hit.
Riley Bruce went 3 for 3 with a triple and three RBIs, while Addie Smith was 4 for 4 with a pair of RBIs, Liv Munoz was 3 for 4 with two RBIs and Murray also plated a pair. Munoz and Smith had doubles.
In the circle, Lizzie Kell fired six strikeouts and allowed just two hits -- both to Madonna's Carmela Pulice.
Mia Pietranton's RBI groundout plated the lone run for Madonna.
"We beat two teams this week that beat us the first time," Backel said. "I'm proud of the girls this week. I told the girls to stay positive after this, we're 5-5 and we'll be OK."
UP NEXT
Madonna: Travels to Weir High for the annual city championship game on Tuesday.
Oak Glen: Is scheduled to play four games in the Robert C. Byrd tournament today and Saturday.
Oak Glen 16, Madonna 1
Madonna 0-0-0 1 – 1 2 4
Oak Glen 0-4-4 8 – 16 18 0
MADONNA (5-5): Ryan (LP, CG, 16R, 12ER, 18H, 3K, 0BB) and Orecchio. Pulice 2S; Pietranton RBI.
OAK GLEN (4-7): Kell (WP, CG, 1R, 1ER, 2H, 6K, 1BB) and Sa. Brown. Sy. Brown 2S. 2RBI; Kell 2S; Sa. Brown S; Munoz 2S, D, RBI; Smith 3S, D, 2RBI; Murray 2S, 2RBI; Hartung S, RBI; Balch RBI; Carter RBI; Bruce 2S, T, 3RBI.