The Lake Orion softball squad split a doubleheader with Troy Athens on Monday to remain at .500 in league action.
The Dragons scored three runs in the sixth inning of game one to take a 6-1 lead and then held on for a 6-4 win. Danielle Dunn struck out six for LO.
Lake Orion jumped out to a 1-0 lead early in game two, but Athens scored a pair in the fourth an added a big insurance run in the sixth for the eventual 3-2 victory.
The split leaves LO at 4-4 in the OAA I and 16-14 overall.
Last Wednesday’s doubleheader against Troy was one to forget until the seventh inning of game two, when LO finally put a run on the board.
Sasha Perryman delivered an RBI single off of freshman pitcher Jordan Wheatley to tie the game at one. Then both teams flashed some defense before Troy finally broke through in the bottom of the ninth inning, winning on a squeeze play.
‘We showed a lot of class and came back,? Coach Denny Davis said. ?(Shortstop) Rachael Warren played really well that second game and made some big plays defensively.?
Wheatley struck out 13 Dragons in the game as Troy improved to 8-0 in the OAA I and clinched the league title. Troy took the first game 13-0 in five innings.
‘The first game started with an error and it just kept multiplying and multiplying,? Davis said.
But his team showed some maturity, battling back in game two, committing just two errors in the nine-inning nightcap after having four in the first game.
‘We played pretty well defensively,? Davis said of the second game. ‘They came together a little bit.?
‘We just told the kids to try to put the bat on the ball,? Davis said of their strategy against Wheatley. ‘We weren’t trying to over-do things. Sasha’s a good hitter and she delivered our big hit.?
Though the Dragons didn’t win, Davis said he saw a few things in the comeback effort that he thinks his team can build on as they get ready for district action against Oxford next week.