GREENVILLE – A walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth inning left the Tri-Village Varsity Patriots on the wrong end of a 3-2 defeat to Oak Hills on Saturday.
With the game tied at 2-2, Oak Hills’ Payton Veneman delivered the game-winning hit, driving in the deciding run and snapping Tri-Village’s 31-game winning streak dating back to the opening game of the 2025 season.
“I feel like we didn’t execute at the plate like we should have,” said Tri-Village coach Emily Osborne. “We didn’t get bunts down like we should have. We need to get our bats going. I would like to see the errors cleaned up on defense and execute at the plate.”
Both teams showcased strong pitching performances in the circle. Oak Hills pitchers combined for eight strikeouts, while Tri-Village recorded nine.
Tri-Village took an early lead in the top of the first inning, capitalizing on an Oak Hills error to go up 1-0.
The Patriots added to their advantage in the fourth inning when Caley McCarroll launched a solo home run to left field, giving Tri-Village a 2-0 lead.
Oak Hills answered in the bottom of the sixth inning as Sasha Emmrich connected on a full-count pitch, sending a home run to left field to even the score at 2-2.
Annaliese Szabo earned the win for Oak Hills, going the distance in the circle. She allowed three hits and two runs (one earned) over eight innings, striking out eight and walking three.
McCarroll took the loss for Tri-Village despite a strong performance. The right-hander pitched 7⅓ innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out nine and walking two.
“Caley pitched well,” Osborne said. “It will be nice to have her all the way through the season, something we didn’t have last year. She’s a strong hitter. She is still learning how to work the counts and work with what we’re calling as far as a pitcher goes. She went the distance, and we just have to make sure we are backing her up and playing good defense too.”
Kash Mead, Emma Greer, and McCarroll each recorded a hit for Tri-Village, with McCarroll going 1-for-3 and driving in one run.
“We build our program with strong teams,” Osborne added. “Each game we have to execute—every at bat, every pitch, every hit that’s hit—we need to make sure that we’re doing our part.”
For Oak Hills, Brenna Hackworth, Veneman, and Emmrich each drove in a run, while Emmrich led the team at the plate going 2-for-3. Oak Hills also turned one double play in the contest.
Tri-Village will look to bounce back when the Patriots travel to Russia on Tuesday.
BOX SCORE:
123 456 78 R H E
100 100 00 2 3 2 Tri-Village
000 011 01 3 6 1 Oak Hills
