Rams Butt the Cougars

In their second conference game this season and their first home game, the Oakton Cougars lost to the Robinson Rams by the score of 11 to 1.

The Rams opened the game with four runs scored by their first four batters.  Oakton responded in the bottom of the first inning with one run scored by shortstop Sami Bassett, who led off with a single up the middle and advanced to second base on a Ram error.  Second baseman Georgia Brandt moved Bassett to third base with a sac bunt, and Bassett scored on a throwing error by the Ram first baseman who was trying to get Brandt out on the bunt.

Neither team scored in the second inning.  The Cougars stranded a Ram runner on third base in the top of the inning when left fielder Danni Nicholls made a running, shoe-string, third-out catch on a line drive hit to shallow left field.  On offense that inning, the Cougars threatened when center fielder Emily Kamienski singled into the shortstop-third gap, moved to second on a sac bunt by catcher Rachel Lee, and stole third.  There, however, she remained when the inning ended.

After the second inning, Robinson’s defense and pitching closed down tight, and only three more Cougars got on base for the rest of the game:  right fielder Nicole Berube walked in the fifth inning; pitcher Taylor Fay singled in the sixth inning, and left fielder Danni Nicholls singled in the seventh inning.