In a three-game series against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies softball team notched a win before losing to the Mastodons in the series’ final two games this past weekend at the Oakland Softball Field.
The series loss brings Oakland’s record to 12-22 on the season, with a conference record of 5-10, good enough for seventh place in the Horizon League standings.
Game 1: Oakland 3, Purdue Fort Wayne 1
In the series’ first game, the Golden Grizzlies struck fast and early. In the first inning, Madi Herrington and Kamryn Troyer hit back-to-back singles, turning a groundout from Kayla Turmell into a run.
Alexa Kownacki singled to center field on the next at-bat, but got caught at second to end the inning. Still, Troyer made it home before Kownacki’s out, giving Oakland a 2-0 lead to start the game.
The Mastodons showed some resistance in the second inning as Alexa Carter got the first hit of the afternoon with a double to center field. Brooke Lickey would follow up with a double of her own on the next at-bat to bring Carter home, making it a 2-1 ball game with Oakland still in control.
With Purdue Fort Wayne on the scoreboard, the Golden Grizzlies responded in the following inning. Herrington hit a long triple to right field before Troyer hit a sacrifice fly, allowing Herrington to score to give Oakland its two-point lead back.
The Golden Grizzlies kept the lid shut on the Purdue Fort Wayne offense the rest of the way. While Oakland couldn’t tab on any more runs, Kenna Bommarito wasn’t giving up anything from the mound, leading to an Oakland win.
Game 2: Oakland 3, Purdue Fort Wayne 4
In game two of the series, the Golden Grizzlies seemed to carry momentum from their first win as Troyer belted an RBI double to left field in the first inning to give Oakland the early lead.
After some early struggles in the batter’s box to start the game, the Mastodons made headway in the fourth. With the bases loaded, Tori Countryman roped in a run with a sacrifice fly to left field before Faith McClain added to the Mastodon tally with an RBI single, giving Purdue Fort Wayne their first lead of the afternoon.
Despite the pushback, the Golden Grizzlies reclaimed their lead in the bottom of the fourth. Taylor Carraway sent Troyer home with an RBI single, while a Mastodon error was costly enough to bring home Maraina Smith, who pinch ran for Carraway.
With Oakland in control for the next couple of innings, the Mastodons tied things up in the seventh inning. After a double from Brooklyn Lickey, Purdue Fort Wayne opted to bunt twice on the following two at-bats, driving in Lickey to tie the game at 3-3.
The game went to overtime following Oakland’s three-up, three-down seventh inning, and the Mastodons quickly capitalized. In the top of the eighth, Purdue Fort Wayne’s Carter hit a home run to right field, leaving the Golden Grizzlies with an inning to write their wrongs.
Although Troyer rattled off a double to start things for Oakland, the Golden Grizzlies couldn’t bring in the tying run, resulting in a loss.
Game 3: Oakland 1, Purdue Fort Wayne 8
The third and final game of the series was won by the Mastodons quite handily.
After Purdue Fort Wayne got on the board with an inside-the-park homer to begin the game, the Golden Grizzlies answered in the bottom of the first as Troyer brought home Brooklyn Plitz after grounding out.
However, from there, it was the Mastodon’s game to lose. Purdue Fort Wayne added runs to their total in the third, fourth, fifth and seventh innings while Oakland struggled to make it on base consistently, resulting in a series loss for the Golden Grizzlies.
Up next, the Golden Grizzlies will look to get back in the win column as they travel to Indianapolis to take on the IU Indy Jaguars in a three-game series that starts on Friday, April 18, and ends with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 19.