Lake Orion edged out a late-inning victory over Oxford on Saturday, but couldn’t duplicate that success against Romeo, falling 7-3 in a softball district final at Oxford.
The big hit for Romeo was a two-RBI double by Julie Barnabo in the fourth inning that helped their lead grow to 4-0.
‘I told the left fielder, (Amber) Agro, to move in and then they hit it over her head,? Coach Denny Davis said.
Still, the Dragons showed some resiliency and got back into the ballgame. Sasha Perryman’s two-RBI hit in the bottom of the fifth cut Romeo’s lead to 4-3.
Romeo put the game away, however, in the top-half of the last inning, thanks, in part, to a couple of defensive miscues.
‘We played about 13 solid innings, but fell apart there in that last inning,? Davis said.
Danielle Dunn struck out two in the loss, while Romeo pitcher Danielle Peters, a converted star shortstop, struck out six. Both teams had 10 hits.
It was the fourth straight year Romeo and Lake Orion met in the district final, with the Dragons taking the first two meetings and Romeo the last two.
The Dragons? season ended at 17-17.
‘We got better as the year went on,? Davis said. ‘This group probably worked harder than any team we’ve ever had. I feel we’ve made some improvements.?
Against Oxford, Chelsea ‘Chucky? Hill knocked in both LO runs, including an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, which broke a 1-all tie.
‘We reinserted Chucky and she came up with a big hit,? Davis said of Hill. ‘She’s hitting .380 for us.?
Hill’s hit scored Rachel Traurig, who had singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
‘We knew they were pitching her outside and we just told her to hit it to right field,? Davis said.
Oxford threatened in the final inning, getting a one out single from Breanna May, but a pair of flyouts ended the Wildcats? season.
‘We knew we could hang with them if we played our game,? Oxford Coach Sue Roeher said.
‘We just didn’t capitalize on our chances and string our hits together like they did.?
Danielle Dunn picked up the win, striking out two, while Corinne Luxton pitched a solid game for Oxford.
The Wildcats? season ended at 9-28.
‘We had three errors, but we played over them,? Davis said. ‘It was a solid game defensively.?
‘It’s nice to beat your cross-town rival,? he added.