ATLANTIC CITY — Eleven days after coming from behind to defeat Atlantic City, the Oakcrest High School softball team did it again for a 21-9 victory Friday afternoon.
Down 6-2 early in the game, Oakcrest turned to freshman pitcher Chrystal Williams for answers. Once she took the circle, Atlantic City’s bats were essentially silenced.
“I just had to keep a good mindset, and (if I had) a bad pitch, forget about it,” Williams said. “Just focus on the next one and keep focusing.”
Williams did just that. After entering the circle for junior Dakota Miranda in the second inning, she threw four innings and recorded six strikeouts.
“She knew that we needed her to come in and slow things down a little bit,” Oakcrest coach Jason Hearn said. “She’s been on the other side of that too with Dakota Miranda, who’s done a great job. They’ve been working so well together.”
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Not only a great tandem in the circle, Williams and Miranda made their mark with their bats. Williams went 4 for 4, drove in five runs and scored three. Miranda went 3 for 3 with three RBIs and scored once.
Atlantic City held a 6-2 lead into the third inning, thanks in part to junior Yeannelly Sosa. She struck out four over 2 1/3 innings prior to exiting the game due to injury.
Oakcrest was able to capitalize with a complete team effort and pull away after Sosa’s exit. Freshmen Madison Mason contributed four hits, drove in three runs, and scored another. Eight Oakcrest starters recorded an RBI in the win.
The Falcons improved it to 6-1 (5-1 Cape-Atlantic League United Division), their lone loss coming against longtime rival Absegami.
“That’s showing maturity,” Hearn said. “This is a very young team. I only have three upperclassmen starting so our work that we’re putting in is showing.”
Added Hearn: “We instilled in them a lot of focus on their goals this year, and we talked about keeping those in mind and not focusing on setbacks and the little struggles here and there. Let those go fast because you always have another opportunity to do something that will benefit the team.”
Oakcrest was without starting shortstop Trinity Brown and outfielder Savannah Jackson on Friday. Other girls stepped up in their place, including Ashley Kuchinsky, who recorded the first two varsity hits of her career.
Junior Mia Marota went 2 for 2, drove in three runs and scored one for the Vikings. Senior Mattie Sarno went 3 for 4, recorded one RBI and scored one run.
The Falcons' effort left team morale high heading into Saturday's in-season tournament with games against Holy Spirit and Middle Township.
“I loved how they came back,” Williams said of herself and her teammates. “When we were down, they didn’t get down. They always kept their attitudes up, and the energy was high too."
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