Despite a late-inning push at the plate, the Morton Maidens varsity softball team fell to Olton, 9-7, this past Monday night in a home matchup at Morton High School.
Olton built their momentum early, scoring three runs in the second inning and adding another in the third to take an early lead in the game. The Maidens responded with a run in the first inning and a run in the second inning, later building up with four added runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, but the late push from Olton made the Maidens come up short.
Olton added a five-run inning in the seventh to extend their lead in the game, finishing with nine runs on six hits, while the Maidens scored seven runs on four hits.
The ultimate difference in the game would be defensive errors, as the Maidens committed seven compared to Olton’s five, leading the Maidens to surrender seven unearned runs.
“Our girls had a late start at the plate and struggled early in that aspect,” Morton Head Softball Coach Martin Adams said. “Errors got us in trouble late and Olton was able to take advantage of that. We had a chance late with our hitters coming up after a two-run inside the park homerun by Natalie Ramirez. Unfortunately we came up short, I am happy now the girls fought hard and gave ourselves a chance in the end.”
At the plate, Haylee Toscano was 1/4 with two stolen bases and a run scored, Aubree Ramon was 1/4 with two runs-batted-in, J’Lynn Marquez was ⅓ with a run scored and a stolen base, Maya Huckabee was ⅓ with a stolen base and a walk, and Natalie Ramirez, Audrie Garcia and Angelica Rubio all scored a run in the game.
On the mound, Garcia pitched all seven innings for the Maidens, recording 10 strikeouts while only allowing one earned run and six hits.
Following the loss, the Maidens now hold a 2-8 record this season. They will return to the action on the field this weekend at home against the Lubbock Titans.