Despite young team, Oak Hills advances past McAuley

Few, if any, of the first-round fast-pitch softball sectional tournament games played Monday matched teams as young as McAuley and Oak Hills.

In fact, there might not have many games in Ohio this year that featured teams so callow.

The combined starting lineups for the visiting, 11th-seeded Mohawks and 10th-seeded Highlanders included just one senior. Oak Hills had none, but that didn't keep the Highlanders from overcoming a 3-0 deficit after three innings to pull out an 8-5 win at Rapid Run Middle School.

Oak Hills tied the game with a three-run fourth inning and took the lead with a four-run fifth, riding a balanced offense in which seven of the nine starters got at least one hit.

This wasn't the first escape act pulled off by the Highlanders, according to coach Jackie Bedel.

"We've had a tendency to have problems getting out of the starting gate, but once we get going, we usually do a pretty good job," the fourth-year coach said.

McAuley coach Karen Wiesman was disappointed that her Mohawks couldn't close the door.

"It seems like we let them take the game to us instead of us taking the game to them," Wiesman said. "We've got to make it happen instead of letting it happen. When you're up by three runs, you've got to seal the deal and not let them back in the game."

The 18-10 Highlanders, who finished tied for sixth in the grueling Greater Miami Conference, are scheduled to play third-seeded Milford, the Eastern Cincinnati Conference champion and the sixth-ranked team in the Enquirer's Division I coaches' poll, on Wednesday at Milford.

Both teams went into the game having won three of their last four in the regular season, the Highlanders after losing three straight games. McAuley took a 1-0 lead in the first on a bases-loaded throwing error. The 11-9 Mohawks, who finished second in the Girls Greater Catholic League, scored on another Oak Hills error and got a run-scoring single from freshman catcher Meghan Gabrial in their two-run third.

"It was stressful," Oak Hills junior pitcher Brooke Shad admitted about the defensive lapses. "We've learned that we've got to let it go. We know what we're doing. We know we've got this. We work together. This feels amazing, especially since we're so young."

Oak Hills capitalized on two McAuley errors to score three runs and tie the score in the fourth. Junior shortstop Emily Wolfzorn and junior catcher Bethani Drew capped the Highlanders' four-run fifth with run-scoring singles.

Sophomore third baseman Andrea Gahan added an insurance run with an RBI single in the fifth.

PLAYS OF THE GAME: Two digs by Oak Hills junior first baseman Bekah Finn on errant infield throws for the first two outs of the seventh inning. They kept McAuley from posing a threat.

STAR OF THE GAME: McAuley sophomore center fielder Ava Lawson, who hit back-to-back triples in the fourth and sixth innings.

VIEW FROM THE SIDELINE: Bedel on Milford: "We know they're good. They've beaten good teams like (Enquirer No. 3) Fairfield. Their players and coaches are fundamentally sound."

EXTRA INNINGS: Oak Hills reached a sectional final last season and lost to Fairfield.

Oak Hills 8, McAuley 5

W–Shad (11-10). L–Brunst (11-9). Leaders: M–Anderson 3-4; Wells 2-3; Thompson 2-4, 2R; Gabrial 2-4, 2 RBI. O–Shad 2-4, 2R; Gahan 2-3; McElroy 2-4. Records: M 11-9, O 18-10.