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 OHS Offense good, Defense good Dani Barelmann hits one in the outfield during the Mid State Softball Tourney against West Point; Marisa Miles, right fielder, catches a fly ball for an out against West Point. O'Neill will advance to the Championship match at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Photo courtesy Studio B Photograpy.
The OHS softball team finished last week with wins over Norfolk High, West Point/Beemer, Lutheran High and Pierce. The four game sweep was highlighted by excellent pitching and defense, as O'Neill committed only four errors and allowed a total of three runs. The Norfolk Panthers came to O'Neill for the first time last Thursday and the Eagles came away with a 3-2 win. The game was competitive throughout, with both teams playing solid defense. OHS got ahead in the fourth, when Marisa Miles drew a walk and Randi Pinkerman beat out an infield hit. Both runners scored on Carli Baseggio's line drive to left field. Norfolk tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the sixth, setting up a dramatic last at bat for the Eagles. In the bottom of the seventh, Jessi Simons led off with a single but was forced out on a fielders choice that allowed Dani Barelmann to reach first. She advanced to second on a passed ball. Erin Boyle then drove a deep shot to right center that was tracked down by the Panthers for out number two. Toni Hamik was up next and she hit the first pitch she saw to short right field, scoring Barelmann and giving the Eagles the win. Jessi Simons struck out five and allowed only three hits in the game. She was backed up by an Eagle defense that did not commit an error in the game. Baseggio and Simons both had two hits in the game. Defensively, Alex Atkins had two key assists to shut down the Panthers in the seventh inning. The Eagles then travelled on Saturday to West Point to take on West Point/Beemer and came away with a 10-0 four inning win. The game was well played by both teams, but OHS had too much offense for the Cadets, pounding out 12 hits. Shelby Heiser led the offense with three hits, including a triple. Erin Boyle and Toni Hamik had two hits each, and Simons, Barelmann, Miles, Pinkerman and Jean Zak had a hit each. The battery of Simons and Hamik threw a no-hitter, as the Eagles faced one batter past the minimum in the game. On Thursday, OHS travelled to Norfolk for a triangular with Lutheran High and Pierce. The Lutheran High game was tight until the fourth inning, when Ariel Lichty drove in Randi Pinkerman and Shelby Heiser with a hard shot to center field. In the fifth, O'Neill plated seven runs on hits by Pinkerman, Baseggio and Simons as they took advantage of two Lutheran High errors. They scored two more in the sixth on hits by Boyle and Hamik to close out the 11-1 win. Simons again pitched well, allowing only one hit and striking out nine. In the second game, OHS played a tough Pierce squad for the third time this season. Defense was key for the Eagles, as they committed only one error and allowed only one Blue Jay hit. Randi Pinkerman scored first for O'Neill on a base hit, a sacrifice bunt from Carli Baseggio and an RBI from Marisa Miles. O'Neill held on to a 1-0 lead until the top of the seventh when Jessi Simons started the inning with a bunt single and was sacrificed to second by Dani Barelmann. She scored on an RBI groundout by Erin Boyle to give OHS a 2-0 lead. O'Neill retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh, getting the two excellent assists from Pinkerman at shortstop and Atkins at second. Marisa Miles made a running catch in right for the final out of the game. The Eagles allowed only one hit for the second game in a row, stranding seven Pierce runners. They will then travel to the Central City Tournament on Saturday.
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