(Oakland, IA) — It was a hard-fought battle between the Bulldogs and the Panthers in Oakland, but a combination of hits and errors made by the Panthers defense put the Bulldogs on top. Peyton Schafer, the ace for the Riverside Bulldogs, took the win in the circle and struck out six while allowing seven hits and one walk. When asked what was working for her in the circle, she said that she was hitting her spots well:
Schafer started off the bottom of the sixth with a line-drive single to center field, advancing Madison Kelley to third. When asked what her approach at the plate was, she said that her team encouraged her after striking out twice to start off the game:
The Riverside Bulldogs started the bottom of the 7th with work to do after the Panthers brought in catcher Gracyn Stone to make the lead 5-4. Sophia Fenner hit a ground ball to start off the bats for Riverside and reached on an error by Panthers third baseman Whitney Hawkins. Fenner advanced to third by a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice bunt, eventually crossing the plate after a throwing error by Stone. With the game tied, Sydney Somers drove a walk-off single to right field which scored eighth grader Maebry Rice.
Campbell Chase was in the circle for the Panthers and takes the loss, striking out eight with four hits and two walks. The Panthers had a winning streak of four going into the match-up, and advance to 7-4 on the season with the Riverside Bulldogs advancing to 11-2. The Panthers travel to Treynor in their next match-up and the Bulldogs head to Exira-EHK-Audubon.
