WALES – Gazing into home plate, Oak Hill pitcher Danielle Sargent can be intimidating.

On sunny days, Sargent wears dark sunglasses that shape her eyes into a permanent scowl. With her blazing fast ball and an intense gaze, hitters rarely see a positive side to a Sargent-pitched game.

Such was the case Wednesday, as she stared down Maranacook’s undefeated lineup in a crucial KVAC softball matchup between two teams that many predict will make a deep impression in the playoff landscape.

“She’s such a smart pitcher,” said Oak Hill coach Julie Boucher. “She does all of her research on the batters and definitely pitches to their weaknesses.”

Sargent mowed down the first six hitters she faced, including three straight strikeouts in the second inning, before allowing one run on two hits in the

third.

“I left that one over the plate a little, and she turned well on it,” Sargent said of the double that broke up her shutout. “We know this team well, and I tried to move it around the best I could on them.”

During the next three and two-thirds innings, Sargent was perfect, retiring 11 straight until Nicole Mace blooped a single into left with two outs in the seventh. True to form, Sargent got the next hitter to ground out to the shortstop to end the game

“To three-hit a team like that, especially when they have the confidence of being undefeated, is just incredible,” said Boucher. “She went right at them and pitched an amazing game.”

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