The weather in Friday night’s contest between the Marion Giants and the Oak Hill Golden Eagles was certainly not the greatest.
The wind whipped through the Oak Hill softball complex all evening long, making it uncomfortable to stand in one place for a short period of time, while the temperature was in the mid 40’s.
But a little inclement weather did not affect Oak Hill sophomore hurler Julianne Gosnell. It did not throw her off rhythm even slightly.
In fact, she thrived, and put together one of her best pitching performances of the 2019 season.
Gosnell pitched her second no-hitter of the campaign and allowed just two baserunners, while the Oak Hill offense used a six-run second inning to assume control on their way to 10-0, mercy rule victory in five innings over the Giants.
For Gosnell, it was her second no-hitter in the month of April. She also completed the feat against Southern Wells back on April 4.
“It’s nice when they are dealing like that,” Oak Hill Head Coach Ben Johnson said of his pitching. “I was shocked. 45 degrees, windy like this, [and] her fastball had some rip tonight. Our pitching is good.”
Gosnell hit the first batter she faced in the contest, but settled down quickly after that. She induced a groundout from Larielle Cox, and then struck out Lindsay Brumley and Kylae Adkins to escape the top of the first inning unscathed.
Oak Hill opened the scoring in the bottom half of the first game. Abby Shaw drew a one-out walk, before Jenessa Hasty reached on an error. With two runners on, Kaela Robey and Korinne Perkins both drew bases on balls, plating Shaw to give Oak Hill a 1-0 advantage.
The Golden Eagles had a chance to add more runs in the inning, but some stellar defense from the Giants kept Oak Hill from pushing any more across. Third baseman Alayjha Jordan was excellent in the field all evening long, but made two great catches in foul territory in the first frame to keep the contest close in the early stages.
“Alayjha had a great game on third base,” Marion Head Coach Sierra Rangel said. “She is a utility player. I can put her anywhere and she is going to do her job well. She had a great line drive to first base as well.”
After a 1-2-3 inning from Gosnell, which included two strikeouts, the Golden Eagles went right back to work in the bottom of the second inning, ultimately seizing the momentum.
In all, 11 batters went to the plate for Oak Hill, and they scored six runs on four hits and four walks. Robey and Perkins each drove in a run and scored, while Shaw, Hasty, Kaleigh Hollars, and Mariah Camden also touched home plate in frame.
The Golden Eagles, as is their modus operandi, were aggressive on the base paths, taking advantage of passed balls and swiping bases when opportunities presented themselves.
“I didn’t want to do a whole bunch of bunting tonight because they played it pretty well early on,” Johnson said. “So I thought, ‘well, we are going to have to hit some gaps.’ We did, and when we got the opportunity to run…we are going to run when we can run. That’s a big part of our game right now.”
After Gosnell breezed through the top of the third inning, Coleena Selleck and Shaw were both walked to start the bottom half of the frame. Selleck later scored, but the Giants recorded three straight outs to once again limit the damage.
Oak Hill added another run in the fourth inning, before Perkins’ RBI single in the fifth plated the winning run from third base, securing the Golden Eagles’ seventh victory of the season.
Along with pitching five shutout innings, Gosnell came away with nine strikeouts, one walk, and one hit by pitch.
Perkins finished the evening with two hits, two RBI, and a run scored, while Kaela Robey was 1-for-2 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Hasty and Shaw each scored two runs.
With a team full of veterans and senior leadership, the Golden Eagles are playing at a high level in the early stages of the 2019 campaign. Not only are they executing in all areas of the game of softball, they continuously hone their craft, as well as lift one another up through the good and the bad.
“You’ve got Jenessa Hasty pulling them in and Bayli Toy talking to them between every inning and then you’ve got Kaela Robey doing her thing. And that’s not even mentioning Korinne [Perkins] and Lizzie [Wood] and Traniser and Kaleigh Hollars. It’s an awesome group,” Johnson said. “They are all here on the fence talking to each other. They are all cheering each other on. It’s nice.”
For Rangel, it was a homecoming of sorts. Before she became Marion’s head coach, she was an all-star catcher and outfielder for the Golden Eagles back in her high school days.
And while the Giants were kept off the scoreboard, Johnson had some high praise for her former star.
“She’s a coach,” Johnson said. “Marion is playing pretty good ball. I know their record is not showing right now, but they compete. I’ve talked with her some being her former coach – and she is doing right things. They’ve got some athletes. When they get older and a little more experienced, Marion is going to play some good softball.”
While the wins have not piled up yet for Rangel and her young squad, the Giants have made considerable improvement since the season started. They are playing much better defensively, making smart plays in the field, and showing much more confidence in their abilities.
Now, Rangel is looking for the Giants to take the next step in their development.
“I think we have to dig in and find our fight a little bit more,” Rangel said. “I think that’s what has been the frustrating part. We need to dig in, want to win, and push for that. We have plenty of room to improve…but I am happy with how we have improved [defensively since] the beginning. We just have to get the bats swinging.”
