Lady ’Cats get a wake-up call
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Makenzie Miller pitched all four innings of the Lady Wildcats’ meeting with Lenoir City last Friday night. Defensively, Oak Ridge was too much for the Lady Panthers and held them scoreless in a 16-0 victory. - Tony Cox
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Oak Ridge’s Katelyn Rayfield had two runs batted in and scored twice on four visits to the plate last Friday night in the Lady Wildcats’ 16-0 win over Lenoir City. - Tony Cox
After a season-opening wake-up call, the Oak Ridge High School softball team responded by picking up a pair of impressive victories last week.
The Lady Wildcats (2-2 overall, 1-1 in District 3-4A) made short work of Lenoir City Friday night as they dispatched the Lady Panthers 16-0 in four innings.
Oak Ridge, which was held off the scoreboard in the first inning, had its offense methodically kick into gear.
The Wildcats pounded out 11 hits in the contest and were advantageous, capitalizing on eight defensive miscues by Lenoir City.
Oak Ridge tallied three times in the second frame and added five more in the third before scoring eight more runs in the fourth.
Five of the Lady Wildcats’ 10 hits went for extra bases as Delanie Shipley blasted a two-run homer, and Morgan Perry, Brenna Bradshaw, Sienna Mirodipini and Azariah Quenga all doubled against the Lady Panthers.
Katelyn Rayfield and Kaylee Hickman each had a pair of hits. Hickman scored twice and drove in a run, while Rayfield had an RBI and scored a run.
Mackenzie Miller went 1-for-4 with an RBI and threw a one-hit complete-game shutout in the circle as she pitched four innings, allowing three walks while recording five strikeouts.
The Lady Wildcats defeated Campbell County 7-3 in a district tilt Thursday as Rayfield, Quenga and Skyler Malenovsky each had two hits.
Bradshaw and Miller tripled against the Lady Cougars, while Shipley came up with a double.
That win came just two days after Oak Ridge dropped its season and district opener to Karns, falling 10-0 to the Lady Beavers and being no-hit in the contest.
“That game was a wake-up call for us,” said ORHS second-year head Coach Lisa Shipley. “The girls knew that they were better than that.
“You have to like the way the girls responded. Brenna Bradshaw and our seniors gave our team a pep talk. And the next day, we had a day off because we were rained out. We came back against Campbell County ready to play.”
The Lady Wildcats dropped a close one Monday, coming up short in a 6-5 decision against Anderson County on the road. Oak Ridge, which had a 3-1 lead in the contest, had 10 hits against the Lady Mavericks, but the Lady Wildcats committed four errors.
Delanie Shipley was 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Bradshaw and Mirodipini also had doubles for the Lady Wildcats.
