MATTIE CARNEY

NEW MANCHESTER, W.Va. — After giving up an early homer, Oak Glen ace Mattie Carney locked in and dominated.

The junior struck out 13 batters while walking just one in tossing a complete game in the circle for the Golden Bears in an impressive 9-2 victory over visiting Steubenville on Thursday evening.

Carney also had two hits and an RBI at the plate while senior Danica Holden had three hits and an RBI and Macy Hartung drove in a pair of runs.

The win avenges a loss at Big Red back in the first week of the season and is the seventh-straight win for Oak Glen, now 12-4.

“Steubenville is a fantastic team and the girls came to battle today,” Oak Glen head coach Sherrie Garner said. “They didn’t get down after the early homer and turned it right around and got back after it.

“These girls are playing with a lot of togetherness and energy and that’s what we want.”

While Big Red started the game with power, a solo homer from program record holder Sadie Edwards, Oak Glen got the job done with small ball and heads up base running as all 10 of their hits were singles.

“The base running was efficient and we found ways to move the runners,” Garner said. “I’m proud of the way they battled against two different pitchers and a really good Big Red defense. We were able to put the ball in play and make things happen, get a couple runs on passed balls with heads up base running. There were some hits that just dropped in the right spots and we capitalized.”

For Big Red (8-4), it was a second-straight loss in which they were held to just four hits.

“Our defense wasn’t bad, they were just hitting the ball all over and we weren’t hustling like I know we can,” Big Red head coach April Minniefield said. “Our hitting is what is causing us to not stay in games, we have to fix that. We went cold and I’m not sure what’s going on with it, but we have to fix it.

“We can play defense, and once we get on base, we can run and score, but we have to get on base more and hit the ball better than we are.”

After Edwards’ homer put Big Red on top in the top of the first, Oak Glen tied the game in the bottom of the second when Marleah Lough’s sac fly plated a run after three-straight singles had loaded the bases.

Edwards doubled and scored on an error to give Big Red the lead back in the third, but it was short-lived as the Bears plated three in the bottom half.

After they loaded the bases again, Holden hit an RBI single to knot the score, Hartung put the ball in play and two runs crossed, an error allowing the bases to remain juiced, though that was the extent of the damage as Oak Glen held a 4-2 lead.

That remained the score until the bottom of the sixth when the Bears put things away with a five-run outburst.

Mikalyn Balch put a ball in play with runners on and an error allowed a run to cross, then Brayley Lash came up and singled to plate another. Carney singled and a throw to the plate was not in time, then Lash scored from third on a passed ball and an errant throw allowed Carney to come around and score, the inning ending a run shy of enacting the run rule.

From there, Carney worked a 1-2-3 seventh, ending the game with back-to-back strikeouts.

UP NEXT

Big Red: Travels to Indian Valley today.

Oak Glen: Takes on Weir High and Williamstown in a tri at home on Saturday.

Oak Glen 9, Steubenville 2

ST: 1-0-1 0-0-0 0 — 2 4 2

OG: 0-1-3 0-0-5 x — 9 10 1

BIG RED (8-4): Edwards (2IP, 1R, 1ER, 3H, 1K, 0BB), Cadile (LP, 4IP, 8R, 3ER, 7H, 3K, 2BB) and Smarrella. Edwards HR, D, RBI; R. Zorne D; Tuttle S.

OAK GLEN (12-4): Carney (WP, CG, 2R, 1ER, 4H, 13K, 1BB) and Heath. Lash 2S, RBI; Carney 2S, RBI; Heath S; Holden 3S, RBI; Hartung S, 2RBIs; Lough RBI; Landess S.