It was a packed house for the OVAC All-Star Softball Game on Ben’s Field at the I-470 Sports Complex. Fans from all over the valley were excited to cheer on girls from 23 schools representing both West Virginia and Ohio.
Before the game, Tom Bechtel was honored for his 50 years of service to the game of softball in both WV and Ohio.
Between innings, the OVAC Players of the Year were recognized and awarded plaques. Winners included Steubenville’s Juliana King, Oak Glen’s Lizzie Kell, Caldwell’s Maddie Mumaw, Toronto’s Michelle Anderson, and Conotton Valley’s Maddison Kelley. The OVAC Coach of the Year was Steubenville’s Gus DiMarzio.
State Champion Kadence Pettit started on the mound for the Mountaineers. She continued to dominate and not give up a run in her 3 innings pitched. Also pitching for WV was Wheeling Park’s Delaney Theiss, Linsly’s Baeleigh Burwell, and Oak Glen’s Lizzie Kell.
West Virginia kicked off the night with a double by Weir’s Reagan Hoover to open the inning. Oak Glen’s Lizzie Kell’s single to right field brought in Hoover. The second inning run was scored by Wheeling Central’s Jocelyn Shaw. To close out the fourth, Parkersburg South’s Taylor Lamp and Wheeling Park’s Hannah Sievertson advanced Weir’s Sophie Aperfine giving WV the 3-0 lead. West Virginia’s final score was clocked in the 5th inning by Kell.
However, the Buckeyes were not deterred, as Ohio came back to take the lead. Edison’s Katie Fluharty started the Ohio rally. Martins Ferry’s Katie Gillespie would pinch run for Fluharty. Harrison Central’s Maddie Butler hit a triple to right-center. Indian Creek’s Abby Starkey smacked a grounder, hitting in Butler. Indian Creek’s Alexis Dawson double to left center tied the game.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, St. Clairsville’s Abby Salisbury would double, and Conotton Valley’s Daphne Stuber would walk to set up Bellaire’s Sophie Porter. With two outs, a quick Porter hit to left center advanced Salisbury and brought Stuber home making the score 5-4 in favor of the Buckeyes of Ohio.
Edison’s Fluharty struck out three. Also pitching for Ohio was Caldwell’s Maddie Mumaw, Martins Ferry’s Kelsi Gillespie and Steubenville’s Jules King. King came to the mound for Ohio in the 7th with a one run lead. In classic King fashion she pitched three innings, giving up just two hits and no runs. The game ended in the 9th when Mumaw made a nice catch on a line drive and threw out the runner on first for a double play to end an attempted rally by the Mountaineers.
Congratulations to both teams for ending the OVAC calendar with an exciting game of softball. Now it’s time to enjoy the summer for a little while, before the OVAC starts off their sports season with the Rudy Mumley All Star Football game on Saturday July 22nd. In the meantime keep up with ovathletics.com for all the Valley sports updates throughout the summer.
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