PIKE CREEK — Odessa and Padua softball were swinging the bats on April 23, with the Pandas holding on for a 12-10 victory at Midway Softball Complex.
The Ducks scored three times in the first inning, two on a single by Gabriella Pudimott, but Padua did most of the damage on offense for the next six innings. The Pandas scored twice in the first to start the comeback. Siena Evans and Cate Schrader walked to open the inning, and both would end up scoring.
Schrader, the pitcher, bounced back from the first inning by retiring the Ducks in order in the second and third. The Pandas get their bats going in their half of the third to take the lead.
Evans hit a ground-rule double to left-center off pitcher Brenna Jester, and she moved to third on a Schrader single. Leigh Chesworth knocked in Evans with a single, and after a groundout, Sophia Ceccola singled to drive in Schrader to give Padua the lead.
Lily DiMarco’s turn was next. She joined the hit parade with a single, scoring Chesworth. They Pandas added two more before the inning ended.
The Ducks responded quickly. A triple to the fence in right-center by Natalie Gephart with two outs scored Juliana Burns and Samantha Stokes to cut the Pandas’ lead in half. Chesworth got one of those back in the bottom of the fourth, adding a run-scoring triple to her impressive offensive afternoon.
Padua seemed to take control with four more in the sixth. The first four batters reached, and all scored. Eliana Hill, who led off with a single, scored on a steal of second by Evans. DiMarco delivered a two-RBI single to put the Pandas in front, 12-5, heading into the seventh.
But Odessa wasn’t about to concede. Madison Blanchfield singled to start the frame, and errors on consecutive ground balls allowed Blanchfield to score with two runners on base. Burns singled to knock in one, and Rileyann Curtis doubled in a pair, and the Padua lead was cut to 12-9 with on one out.
Consecutive groundouts scored Curtis, but the bases were empty with two outs. Hill, who had come in to pitch in the sixth, walked the next batter, but Evans threw her out trying to steal second to end the game.
Chesworth went 4-for-4 with four runs batted in, and DiMarco drove in three on a pair of hits. Schrader also had three hits. Padua (4-4) will host Saint Mark’s on April 29 at Midway Softball Complex at 3:45 p.m.
Curtis and Stokes each went 2-for-4 for the Ducks, who fell to 4-5. They visit William Penn on Thursday at 3:45 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
