GREENVILLE – On a night when a stiff wind blowing in from centerfield kept several deep drives in the park, the Greenville Lady Wave leaned on a dominant performance in the circle from Ella Oswalt to secure a 3-1 Miami Valley League win over a fundamentally sound Piqua Lady Indians squad.
“Great day for Lady Wave Softball,” said Greenville coach Jerrod Newland. “An hour and seven minutes. Two good teams going at it.”
Both teams were sharp defensively and strong in the circle, but Oswalt proved to be the difference. The Lady Wave ace went the distance, recording all 21 outs while striking out 16 batters. She allowed just two hits and one run over seven innings, issuing only one walk.
“Lights out, we rode her back to a win,” Newland said of Oswalt’s performance. “We didn’t do much out there. She K’d 16 lights out. She put the ball right by them, changed speeds great, hit spots, she was lights out on the mound today.”
“If she did not throw an ‘A’ game today, I don’t know what would have happened because it was a 3-1 game,” Newland added. “One of the better performances I’ve seen out of her in a while.”
Oswalt set the tone early, striking out the side in both the first and second innings. Meanwhile, Greenville scratched across a run in the bottom of the first. Leah Force led off with a single to right, advanced two bases on a Piqua error, and came home on a passed ball for a 1-0 lead.
The Lady Wave added to their advantage in the fourth. Oswalt led off with a double, and courtesy runner Rilie Pfledderer later raced home on a Jordyn McMullen RBI groundout to give Greenville a 2-0 cushion.
Greenville found insurance in the sixth inning when Oswalt delivered again at the plate, driving a leadoff shot deep to centerfield that powered through the wind for a solo home run and a 3-0 lead.
Piqua threatened in the seventh, using a walk and a sharply hit ball just inside the third base line to score its lone run and bring the tying run to the plate. But Oswalt closed the door to secure the win.
“Their four players made every play, and they are great kids, made great plays, and bottom line, 3-1 game, and they had the tying run up to the plate in the last inning, one swing of the bat away,” Newland said. “If we come out and don’t find holes, but they made every play today and great team, great fast pitch game, fun stuff, and we prevailed today.”
“Quick, crisp, clean game and bottom line, we move on, and it will be a war Friday at Piqua,” Newland concluded.
Oswalt also led Greenville offensively, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, including a solo home run and an RBI double.
The Lady Wave played error-free softball in the win, while Piqua committed just one error in a tightly contested conference matchup.
Greenville will travel to Piqua for an MVL rematch on Friday, April 24, with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.
BOX SCORE:
123 456 7 R H E
000 000 1 1 2 1 Piqua
100 101 X 3 6 0 Greenville
