MARSHALL: 11

Cougars Drop Opener to the Statesmen

In their opening regular season game, the Oakton Cougars lost to the Marshall Statesmen by the score of 11 to 3.  The game was played at Hayfield Secondary School as part of a Saturday double header in the annual Hayfield Spring Tournament, and the Cougars were home team based on a coin toss.

The Cougar defense killed Marshall’s opening-inning threat when second baseman Dani Nicholls turned a nice double play with bases loaded and one out, snagging a frozen-rope line drive up the middle and then stepping on second to double up the Marshall runner, who thought the ball was going through to the outfield.

After retiring the Statesmen one, two, three in the top of the inning, Oakton took a one-run lead in the bottom of the second after pitcher Taylor Fay led off with double, Nicholls moved her to third with a grounder, and she reached home on a bobbled ball hit by third baseman Sami Bassett.

The Statesman answered back in their next at-bat, scoring a run on two singles in the top of the third.  Shortstop Caroline Brogan got on with a single in the bottom of the third, but was left stranded.  The score was tied 1-1 after three innings.

The Marshall bats broke the game open in the 4^th inning, swatting five hits and scoring six runs.  Cougar shortstop Caroline Brogan unfortunately suffered a knee injury defending against this onslaught, and Marissa Sanzone entered the game to replace her.  The Cougars looked like they we going to answer back in the bottom of the fourth when Fay led off with her second double of the game and Nicholls walked to put runners on first and second bases, but they were left stranded, making the score Marshall 7, Oakton 1 after four innings.

Oakton threatened to answer again in the bottom of the 5^th inning, when Sanzone, subbing for the injured Brogan, hit a single down the left field line and first baseman JoJo Felix was hit in the head by a pitch, putting runners on first and second. But at inning 's end, they were also left stranded..

Marshall plated four more runs in the 5^th and 6^th innings before Oakton could finally answer back.  Nicholls opened the bottom of the sixth with a single, and catcher Rachel Lee reached base on a Statesmen error, putting runners on first and second.  Bassett hit a grounder to the Statesmen shortstop, who tagged out Nicholls but then threw the ball over first base, allowing Lee and Basset to reach third and second bases.  Right fielder Georgia Brandt then came to the plate and hit a single into the left-center-field gap, driving in both Lee and Bassett.

Neither team scored in the 7^th inning, making the final score 11-3 in Marshall’s favor.