DUKE CENTER — The Otto-Eldred Softball team picked up their ninth consecutive victory behind Kate Rihnehart’s 14 strikeouts in a 13-1 win over Galeton.
Rhinehart started the game with three consecutive strikeouts for the Lady Terrors.
Jessi Hall sparked the offense with a leadoff triple. Kyla Andreano hit a sacrifice ground ball but was able to drive in Hall giving O-E their first run of the day. A pair of walks set up a Lexi Prince bunt. An error on Prince’s bunt allowed the two baserunners to score. Capping off a strong first inning was Brooklynn Pearce hitting a fast ground ball past the shortstop to bring in Price. After the first inning, the Lady Terrors had a 4-0 lead.
Another quick three outs from the O-E defense allowed them to continue their momentum in their next at-bat. Andreano started with a single and was driven in a few pitches later by a Carrie Drummond ground ball. Adding on to her strong pitching start, Rhinehart hit a triple to bring in another run for the Lady Terrors. Back-to-back walks set up Ayla VanScoter for a hard-hit ground ball to the outfield, driving in the two baserunners. After two innings O-E grew their lead to 8-0
Rhinehart continued her strong outing in the circle by adding three more strikeouts in the top of the third inning. Galeton slowed down the Lady Terrors offense but O-E was still able to add to their lead. Rhinehart hit a pop fly to right field and allowed Andreano to tag up and score their lone run of the inning. This increased their lead 9-0 after three innings.
“We are well-balanced throughout the lineup,” said O-E head coach Kristina Francis. “We got seniors in the top three of our four batters. Our younger freshmen have done their roles to help advance the runners and score.”
The Lady Tigers prevented the shutout in the top of the fourth. Eve Cole started with a leadoff single for Galeton’s first hit of the day. Brielle Lehman hit the ball into deep left field to drive in Cole and put the Lady Tigers on the board. However, O-E’s defense prevented them from scoring anymore and maintained a 9-1 lead.
After giving up this run, the Lady Terrors kept the ball rolling on the offensive side in the bottom of the fourth. A Prince single and steal put her in scoring position. An error on fielding Bailee Olmstead’s bunt allowed Prince to score. With the bases loaded, Andreano drove them all in with a double off of a hit to deep center field. The O-E lead grew to 13-1 after four innings.
With a final chance to score, Galeton put a baserunner in scoring position, but Rhinehart struck out back-to-back batters to seal the game winning 13-1 in five innings.
The Lady Terrors were led by Andreano who went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and VanScoter went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. The Lady Tigers were led by Lehman who went 1-for-2 and one RBI.
“Kate’s senior leadership has been great both at the mound and in the dugout,” said Francis. “When she dominates on the mound, it makes it easier to play loose when we bat and play with comfort.”
Galeton:
Otto-Eldred: Rhinehart ( 14 SO, 1 BB), … and Drummond
