By HUNTER O. LYLE
DUKE CENTER, PA – In a game that largely rested on powerhouse pitching, the Otto-Eldred softball team rallied late for a 2-1, eight-inning win over Northern Potter, earning a bit of redemption while handing the Lady Panthers their first league loss of the season.
Ahead of the season, the Lady Terrors knew NoPo was the team to beat, having circled their meetings on the calendar even in spring training. Forming a team for the first time in five years a season ago, the Lady Panthers burst on the scene behind then-freshman ace Jaylen Willamee, who threw for over 200 strikeouts in her rookie year. Their rapid ascension earned them not only a Allegheny Mountain League title, but also a trip to the District 9 Class A Finals. Although they missed out on a banner, they had supplanted themselves atop the local competition, a throne that also came with a target.
“As far as experience, Williammee has that experience with her playoff run last year. Rayel (Hakes) is just getting into that,” said Otto-Eldred head coach Kristina Francis. “I think Williamee has a better range in her pitches, from her change up to her rise ball, where Rayel right now is working on the fastball, but being a lefty helps.”
In their first meeting, on Friday, April 5, NoPo took the lead in the season series with a narrow 4-3 win that saw them survive a late O-E comeback. Since suffering their first loss, however, the Lady Terrors have caught fire, stringing together five consecutive wins by a 61-4 margin of victory.
“We were young. I thought there were a couple calls (in the initial meeting) that could have gone our way and it would have been a 5-4 game, but we learned from it,” said Francis. “We took the adversity, we took the game and knew we could compete. We’ve been doing a lot of learning about using mistakes and just focusing on them in practice.”
The battle of sophomore circles, Hakes vs Williamee, commenced immediately. Through the first two frames, neither squad could find an answer to the respective aces, with strikeouts widely outnumbering hits. In the bottom of the second, the Lady Terrors found some contact with a consistent implementation of bunts and, although they left a runner stranded in that particular inning, their persistence would lead to production one frame later.
Leading off the Lady Terrors in the bottom of the third was Brooklyn Pearce, who bunted her way to first before stealing second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Jahden Smith would move Pearce to third with another bunt, this one being sacrificial. Then, Baylee Francis took to the plate, cracking a low-flying single through the infield to break the stalemate and drive in the first run of the day.
Although O-E would stumble late in the third, loading the bases before a botched attempt to steal home gave up out No. 3, they would cover their tracks with a three-and-out dispatching of NoPo at the top of the fourth – Hakes struck out two. The tense battle in the circle would resume from then on, with both pitchers tallying seven combined strikeouts over the next inning and a half.
In the top of the sixth, it would be the Lady Panthers’ turn to get some action, although it looked bleak early on. Through their first three batters, NoPo put just one runner on while suffering two outs. However, taking a page from the Lady Terrors, Serenity Risser reached first off a bunt before making it to second on a sacrifice grounder, their second out. Then Williamee would take a turn in the batters’ box, staring down her rival, Hakes, who starred back from the circle.
Rayel Hakes winds up in the circle during the Lady Terrors’ 2-1 win over NoPo on Tuesday. Through eight innings, Hakes would record a game-high 14 strikeouts while giving up just two hits. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Showcasing her duality, Williammee smashed a shot deep into right field. Landing in some slippery mud, the Lady Terrors’ outfielder fumbled the recovery, allowing Williammee to make it to third while driving in a run to tie the game. While O-E sent NoPo back on defense with a quick out immediately after, the pressure had been forced back onto their shoulders.
In the next inning and a half, neither team could repeat their earlier success, forcing the game into high stakes extra innings. Taking to the plate first, NoPo would be stunted once again, being dispatched in just three batters with a strikeout and back-to-back plays at first. For the Lady Terrors, their bats having already found contact twice in their previous at-bat, they refused to let go of their budding momentum.
Smith would kick things off with a single, stealing second as Baylee Francis stepped up to the plate for a third time. Once again, she would rocket off a shot that broke through the diamond, driving in the game-sealing score. Against the reigning lead champions, the Lady Terrors had hammered in a dent to NoPo’s undefeated league streak.
Remy McDivitt rounds home plate during the Lady Terrors win over the Lady Panthers. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
While Hakes was the stand out in the circle, notching 14 Ks to Williamee’s 12, Baylee Francis was the star at the plate. Through three appearances, she tallied three hits scoring two RBIs in the midst of her freshman season. Smith and Hakes, along with Carrie Drummond and Alya Van Scoter, would all also record hits during the win with Smith and Remy McDivitt both rounding home plate.
“It was a huge win. As far as where we want to go and how we have to grow, I think Rayel is continuing to grow in the circle,” said Kristina Francis, whose team is now tied with NoPo for first in the AML. “Defensively, I think we’re solid, we can sure up our outfield a little bit, and then offensively we’re going to continue to grow. I think our bats are going to get better each and every game.”
AT DUKE CENTER
R H E
Northern Potter 000 001 0 0 1 2 1
Otto-Eldred 001 000 0 1 2 8 2
NoPo: Williamee (12 SO, 3 BB) and Steele
O-E: Hakes (14 SO, 1 BB) and Drummond
